Danganronpa: Out of This World! (SYOC: Closed)
by Other Senpai
Summary: "We may be able to breathe, but I still feel like I'm suffocating here..." A group of future Hope's Peak Academy students wake up on a spaceship, with Pilot Monokuma urging them to kill if they wish to return home to Earth. The depressing darkness of the cosmos will do anything to a person's mind, and 20 teens trapped together never ends well...
1. Prologue (Part 1)

**(A huge thank you to TrulyConfused for our new, amazing cover.)**

* * *

Almost immediately as my eyes fluttered open, I felt like closing them again. There was a pounding in my head and ears, almost like when you swim up too fast in the ocean or you're on an airplane that just took off. In short, it hurt like a bitch.

On top of the physical pain, there was also the mental. Where the hell am I? _When_ am I?

I could barely remember a thing about what I was doing before this. The distinct, clean smell of my school's main office is all I can remember, but other than that I don't know how I ended up here.

My eyes may have been closed, but all four of my other senses seem to be working. I felt cold, like the inside of a hospital, or maybe even the walk-in freezer at my cousin's store. I was laying on something very hard and equally as cold as the room I was in. Almost like steel...

Ignoring my throbbing head, I slowly willed my eyes open.

I looked to be in a medium-sized room, with the walls and floors both being made of gray steel. There were no windows, but a door was directly in front of me.

The only other thing in the room was an...incinerator?

It definitely looked to be turned off, but still, a little creepy if you ask me. My unfortunate fear of tight spaces made me shudder at the thought of getting trapped in there. No thank you...

Slowly, I stood up and made my way over to the door. I was stumbling with every step, but at last, I reached my destination. My shaky hand gripped the doorknob and jiggled it.

It didn't open.

"No luck..." I mumbled. My heart was beginning to race as I thought about the danger I could be in, but I was determined to find a way out of here and find out what's going on.

I looked around the room once more. The incinerator more than likely wouldn't help me out, but maybe my phone could.

I reached into my pocket for my phone, only to pull out some electronic device _resembling_ a phone...just not _my _phone. A bit more on edge now, I pressed the power button located on the back of the 'phone'.

Instantly, I was greeted with my name written in blue font and personal info about myself.

_**WELCOME**_,

SEIZO MORINE

Ultimate ACTOR

**Gender**: Male

**Height**: 5'8"

**Weight**: 141 lbs.

**Blood Type**: A-

**Likes**: DVDs, free food

**Dislikes**: Paparazzi, tight spaces

I frowned at the information this phone seemed to know about me. My height, weight, and blood type were all exactly correct, and I mean, I _guess_ that my likes and dislikes are true...

However, I couldn't help but notice the 'ultimate' in front of my current occupation: actor. I received a letter confirming my enrollment to Hope's Peak Academy under that title, but I have yet to tell anyone, not even my parents. How could this phone know when no one else does?

Upon pressing the screen, I was given a few options to choose from.

_PROFILES_

_RULES_

_EVIDENCE FILE_

_MAP_

_PRIZES_

_SETTINGS_

Most of the options didn't even work, and ones that did proved to be useless in aiding my escape.

I was starting to get frustrated. I had no idea what was going on and nothing was helping to help me figure it out. My phone wasn't in my pocket, the door is locked, and I have this annoying ass headache...

My eyes wandered to the incinerator. It had a control panel next to it, which I assume turns it off and on. Having nothing else to do, I stumbled toward it.

My vision was starting to get blurry and I felt more and more weak with every step. But I was determined to find a way out of here.

Upon closer inspection, the control panel had a row of buttons with different labels.

**START INCINERATION **

**STOP INCINERATION**

**LIGHT ON/OFF**

**UNLOCK/LOCK**

I tugged on the door to the incinerator, only to find it, like the door in this room, locked. Glancing back at the control panel, I saw the unlock button and pressed it.

A small click turned my attention back to the incinerator. This time, when I tugged on the door, it opened.

A little satisfied with myself, but overall still confused at to what the hell is going on, I peered inside the incinerator. It was a decent size, and I as I originally thought; could very well fit a body, or even two.

A little sparkle at the bottom of the incinerator suddenly caught my eye.

Interested and having nothing else to do, I slowly reached down and fumbled around until my hand gripped something small and cool. I took it out to observe my finding.

A key!

It was small and looked like a key to something _equally _as small, but still: progress is progress!

Smiling triumphantly, I made my back to the door, only to find myself frowning once again as I realized: the damn door doesn't have a lock!

"Damn it!" I groaned, shoving the key into my pocket and rolling my eyes.

That was it, there was literally nothing else for me to do...or so I thought.

I felt a buzz in my pocket, coming from the phone, and turned it on.

The "PRIZE" icon was bouncing, and upon clicking it, confetti and the words "Congratulations!" filled the screen.

After the 'cute' little graphic, all displayed on my screen were several little boxes, with only one of them lit up with the number [_**001**_]. I clicked on it and read the following:

**Task**: Find your [TEMPORARY] room key.

**Reward**: Unlock any one door. [Redeem?]

Room key? I didn't know why I'd need a room key, but whatever; I was more interested in the 'reward'. Unlock any one room...

I clicked on the redeem button and immediately heard a 'swoosh'. It came from the locked door in the room!

Immediately, I rushed towards it and jiggled the handle. And this time, it unlocked.

"Fuck yeah!" I beamed, feeling a new wave of energy surge through me. I was one step closer to finding out what's going on.

I slowly opened the door, and entered a room beyond my wildest imaginations...

**A/N: New SYOC time! I know my last two SYOCs didn't do so well in the update department, but I am older and wiser now, and ready to take on something new! **

_SYOC Rules_

**1\. Our protagonist is Seizo Morine, the Ultimate Actor! He is a very promising up and coming actor who's famous for playing the villain in the live-action adaption of "Sun Witch Esper Ito". Between the three OG Danganronpa protagonists, he is definitely most similar to Hajime. **

**2\. Yes, this story will take place in space! None of the characters know this yet, however.**

**3\. The theme of this story will be New VS. Original. Trust me, all will make sense soon...**

**4\. All characters know of Hope's Peak Academy, and have gotten in, but don't currently attend or know anything about The Tragedy. **

**5\. As of right now, the deadline is _SEPTEMBER 27th_****. It could be made sooner if I get all the characters I need, or it could be postponed to later if I don't.**

**6\. I'll add to this whenever I think of something else!**

**(A huge thank you to TrulyConfused for our new, amazing cover)**

_OC Rules_

**1\. I'll be accepting 17 characters!**

**2\. No canon talents!**

**3\. Obviously, no Mary Sues or Gary Stus...**

**4\. Send your characters via PM only, with the subject as (DR OOTW OC: [NAME] [TALENT]) **

**5\. You can submit as many characters as you want, but I'll only accept two from two people. **

**6\. I'll add to this whenever I think of something else!**

**Submitted Genders**:

Males x20 (21?)

Females x16

**Submitted Talents**:

Actor

MMA Fighter

Ventriloquist

Salesman

Dealer

Psychiatrist

Floriculturist

Cartoonist

Food Critic

TV Host

Byzantine

Spy

Skeleton

Biophysicist

Vet

Horseback Rider

Arsonist

Male Idol

Prodigy

Cryptid Enthusiast

Barista

Electric Guitarist

Daredevil

Ornithologist

Photoshoot Choreographer

Travel Blogger

Train Robber

Escapist

Lawyer

Illustrator

Ranchero

Boulanger

Mangaka

Occultist

Modern Dancer

**CAST LIST**

**Males**

**1**. Crimson - Ultimate Actor (mine)

**2**. Azure - Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast (_cryptidren_)

**3**. Frost - Ultimate Barista (_Partyboy426_)

**4**. Onyx - Ultimate Salesman (_LDOLDAL_)

**5**. Sage - Ultimate Illustrator (_WritersMind15_)

**6**. Cotton - Ultimate Escapist (_Commander Disappointment_)

**7**. Silver - Ultimate TV Host (_Deathtobuttersauce_)

**8**. Cloud - Ultimate Occultist (_Animeboy15_)

**9**. Mauve - Ultimate Dealer (_Sync_ _Jack_)

**10**. Sunrise - Ultimate Pilot (_oddlyillregular_)

**Females**

**1**. Rose - Ultimate Prodigy (_NSPunny_)

**2**. Cherry - Ultimate Food Critic (_JessJess1818_)

**3**. Indigo - Ultimate Daredevil (_Barbacar_)

**4**. Diamond - Ultimate Photoshoot Choreographer (_TheRoseShadow21_)

**5**. Scarlet - Ultimate Modern Dancer (_CandleFire45_)

**6**. Royal - Ultimate Runway Model (_Jaylenavy_)

**7**. Emerald - Ultimate Archaeologist (_Abiat_ _Eco_)

**8**. Lava - Ultimate Tinkerer (_Blue Tanaka_)

**9**. Merigold - Ultimate Translator (_OceanAstro_)

**10**. Noir - Ultimate Spy (_Fallenstreet01_)

* * *

OC FORM (Also on my profile)

_General_

**Name**:

**Nicknames**:

**Gender**:

**Age**:

**Birthday**:

**Blood Type**:

**Ultimate**:

_Appearance_

**Height**:

**Weight**:

**General Appearance**: (Include hairstyle/color, eye color/shape, etc.)

**Other Notable Details**:

**Outfit**:

**Accessories**:

_Personal Info_

**Personality**:

**Likes**:

**Dislikes**:

**Hobbies**: [Can include their Ultimate or just anything else they enjoy doing!]

**Dreams**: [Any dreams they wish to accomplish?]

**Habits**: [Any habits they have? Biting nails? Tapping fingers on desk? Or even just a certain suffix or something they add onto their words?]

_Weaknesses_

**Phobias/Fears**:

**Pet Peeves**: [What really gets under their skin and bugs them?]

**General Weaknesses**: [What kind of weaknesses do they have that may hinder them in a fight or just in life in general?]

_Strengths_

**Skills**: [Any neat skills they gained from their Ultimate?]

**General Strengths**: [Strengths they have that may help them in life?]

_Backstory_

**Birthplace**:

**How They Discovered Their Ultimate**: [They had to discover their talent somehow after all!]

**History**: [What was their life like before the Killing Game?]

_Fun Stuff!_

**Sexuality**:

**Romance?**:

**If so, with what type of person?**:

**Who they'd be friends with**:

**Who they'd be enemies with**:

**Secret(s)?**:

**Opinion on Killing Game**:

**Quotes**: [At least eight. For me to get a better idea of how they speak.]

**Other**: [Anything else I forgot, or that you'd like to let me know?]


	2. Prologue (Part 2)

Prologue (Part 2)

* * *

The room before me was not exactly a room, but rather a large hallway. The lighting in the hallway was dark, making it all the creepier, and the walls were covered in pieces of paper with designs of some sort of blueprint on them. Some of the wall was left uncovered, revealing a shiny, reflective surface where I could observe myself.

Well, at least no one messed with my appearance...My wavy dark brown hair looked rather shiny in the lighting of the hallway. My dark red eyes looked tired as usual, with subtle bags underneath them due to late-night filming sessions. The unsightly scar on my nose I earned from my first fight looked prominent as ever against my tan skin, and I, unfortunately, didn't have anything to cover it with here...

My clothes also looked to be intact. I wore a short-sleeved black button-up shirt, with the crest of my school (that I never attended), a bee wearing a crown on a silver shield, on the left breast. I left the top button undone, and wore a pair of black jeans. On top of my shirt, I wore an unbuttoned navy blue varsity jacket. For shoes, I just wore white sneakers.

"What the actual hell..." I muttered. Now that I was finally out of that room, whatever was going on started to feel very real. Considering I was more than likely kidnapped, I had to find a way out before my kidnapper caught me.

Suddenly, the phone in my pocket buzzed once more. I frowned, a little suspicious, but ultimately my curiosity got the best of me and I pulled it out to see a message displayed on the screen.

"_Hello, __**Crimson**__! _

_I know you are quite proud of your accomplishments, and especially your iconic name, but I ask of you to please keep it (i.e. your name) to yourself! _

_You must keep your identity a secret at all times. Failure to do so will, unfortunately, result in a __**punishment **__via your __**ankle monitor**__! _

_To help you communicate better with your fellow passengers, we've given you the codename of __**CRIMSON **__(a shade of __**red**__). Please use this codename at all times rather than your real name, or as aforementioned, you'll be punished. This codename will be used in place of your real name on your student profile (only to other students)._

_You __**may**__ share your Ultimate Talent with your fellow passengers (who by the way, are also Ultimates) and are in fact encouraged to do so. If you do, other passengers will be able to view it from your student profile on their e-Handbooks. _

_Have a good day_!"

What the fuck? Keep my name to myself? Use a codename? Communicate with my fellow passengers? What the hell is going on here?!

Sure enough, I realized that something was on my ankle, and upon touching it, it definitely was some sort of ankle monitor. How or when it got there, I have no clue.

I shoved the phone back into my pocket and sighed. I guess I wasn't alone here judging by the message about communicating with other people. But what does it mean by passengers? And fellow ultimate...So we were all accepted into Hope's Peak, and then kidnapped and taken to this place? Not to sound like the Ultimate Conspiracy Theorist, but could Hope's Peak have something to do with this?

Clearly, I wasn't going to find answers by standing around in this hallway, so I knelt down into the shadows, and slowly crept towards a light at the end of the hallway. As I moved along, I noticed there were several open doors next to the one I came out of. I wondered what was inside each of them, but didn't stop to look.

_**SWOOSH!**_

I stopped. A sound of a door opening behind me caught my attention and I was sure footsteps were soon to follow.

Sure enough, I was right.

I held my breath and closed my eyes, desperately hoping that whoever it was would continue walking past me.

The footsteps were getting closer, and my heart beat faster and faster. Was this the end? Would my kidnapper notice me and put me right back in the room, maybe this time in the incinerator, burning me to death? I normally wasn't this paranoid, but come on, this whole situation is creepy as fuck!

The footsteps were right behind me now, and I remained as still as possible. Well, until I felt myself being knocked down.

"Woah!" The person yelled, as they also fell.

As I toppled over I realize that I may have hidden myself a little _too_ well, and the person must've tripped over me.

But now was my chance! I quickly rolled over and pinned the person to the ground.

"Ah-ha! Got you, asshole!" I smirked triumphantly. This was way too easy!

"Huh? Got you?" The person asked. "Why have you gotten me, I didn't do anything wrong..." They nervously laughed.

"Yeah right..." I rolled my eyes. "You're the douchebag who put me in here!"

"Uh, no..." The person, whose voice I realized was a male. "I'm in the same boat as you."

"Huh?" I was surprised, but it would make sense. The message from before did mention other people, so I guess this guy was one of them.

"Yeah, so...do you think you could please get off of me?" They chuckled.

I slowly stood up off of him, waiting for him to also get up. Once he did, I was able to observe his appearance better.

The boy is on the shorter side of things, with a thin build. He has tan skin and burgundy eyes (with his left eyes looking strangely paler than the other one), framed by black glasses. He ties his curly black hair in a ponytail.

He wears a black hoodie with a design of a siren on the left breast, dark grey sweatpants, and white socks. It was then that I noticed he didn't have any shoes...

"Er, sorry for jumping to conclusions..." I apologized. "I just have no idea what's going on. Andddd, I do have a habit of being a bit impulsive..."

"No worries." He smiled. "I'm glad I'm not here by myself. What's your name?" He held out a hand.

"S-" I stopped myself, remembering the message about keeping my identity a secret. I could feel the ankle monitor wrapped around my ankle. I didn't know what it meant by punishment, but I kinda didn't want to find out...

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The boy quickly apologized. "I'm not trying to get you killed or anything! You must've gotten the same message too, right?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "I don't really want to test whoever kidnapped us, so maybe we should use the codenames they gave us?"

"Agreed." The boy also nodded. "So, what's your codename?"

"It's Crimson, which I guess is a shade of red." I rolled my eyes at the strange codename but I also couldn't help but laugh. "And I guess it's worth noting that I'm the Ultimate Actor."

"Oh cool, a movie star!" The boy smiled. "I'll have to look up you up once we get out of here. Well, I mean, your real name."

"What's your codename?"

"Er, it's Azure, a shade of blue." He said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. Blue? I don't know why, but it kind of made sense for him. "I was accepted into Hope's Peak under the title of Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast."

* * *

_Name: ? _

_Codename: Azure _

_Ultimate Talent: Cryptid Enthusiast _

* * *

"Azure, pretty cool." I nodded. "And, cryptid? I think I've heard about that before...Like Big Foot and stuff, right?" I asked.

"Exactly." 'Azure' beamed. "The Jersey Devil, the Yeti, the Loch Ness monster, and all the rest! I'm positive that they exist, and I'll be the one to find them!"

"I look forward to seeing it. Their existence would sure as hell make life a whole lot more interesting." I joked.

"Right?" Azure smiled. "I actually have discovered a handful of small cryptids already. My first discovery even made it on the news! Have you heard of it?"

I thought about it, but I couldn't recall hearing anything but a new animal being discovered by a teenage boy. "Sorry, I don't really watch the news all that much," I admitted. "I'm sure my parents have heard of you though, they're obsessed with science stuff like that."

"Well, then you'll have to introduce me to them sometime." Azure joked.

"You want to meet the parents already?" I laughed. "You may be a star in the science world, but my parents are pretty protective of me."

Azure chuckled. "Well, I guess I'll have to prove myself. Maybe if I discover the Yeti they'll start to like me? After all, that 9 PM curfew your dad gave me is wayyyyy too early."

I could already tell that I was going to get along with Azure. For however long we were here for, his presence might keep me from wanting to blow my brains out. "Maybe. But, before you can discover the Yeti, why don't we find a way out of this place?"

"Right," Azure nodded. "I was just heading to that light at the end of the hallway before I tripped over you."

"Yeah, same." I replied.

It was definitely better to have someone rather than being alone, so at least I have Azure, or whatever the hell his real name is. C'mon, what the hell is up with this codename crap? It's clearly based on colors for whatever reason. Why can't we just tell each other our real names?!

We walked together towards the light. Once we reached it, we realized it was coming from a metal door with a window in front of it. The window was made of glass that made it hard to see what lay beyond, however. Best case scenario: it was to the outside.

"This better work..." I sighed, eyeing the doorknob. I grasped it and turned.

It opened.

"Yes!" Azure cheered. "We're almost out of here, Crimson."

"Hopefully you're right." I sighed in relief. "Alright, let's see what's behind this door..."

I opened it more, quickly realizing that it unfortunately just led to another room. But, trying to stay optimistic here: maybe the next room after this one leads to the outside?

We walked through the door and were met with an oddly futuristic sight.

Everything in the room was white. White walls, white floor, and more than a dozen white chairs surrounding a giant white table. The ceiling was glass and revealed a starry night sky. Basically, the room looked like something out of a very modern mental asylum meeting room.

In the corner of the room, there was a girl fiddling with some sort of tablet.

She has black hair in a ponytail with a pink bow, and light blue eyes. Her skin is light, and similarly to Azure, she has a rather small build.

She wears a sleeveless dress, with the top being white with black stripes, and the skirt bearing a chess-board pattern. She wears pink stockings, pink shoes, and a blue denim jacket over her dress.

"Hey!" I called out to the girl. "Friend or foe?"

"Eek!" the girl shrieked, almost dropping the tablet and quickly turning to us. Woops, guess I startled her.

"Don't worry, we come in peace." Azure reassured.

"T-that's a relief." The girl smiled, regaining her composure. "Um, s-so you guys were kidnapped too? You must be the fellow passengers that message was talking about..."

I nodded. I still don't know what the message meant by passengers, but yeah, I guess we're what the message is referring to.

We introduced ourselves, using our codenames of course, and mentioning our talents.

"M-my codename is Rose, a shade of pink, and I'm the Ultimate Prodigy. It's nice to meet you." She revealed.

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Rose_

_Ultimate Talent: Prodigy_

* * *

"Figures yours would be a shade of pink." I chuckled. A lot of her clothing items were pink, after all. "Prodigy? So you must be pretty smart, huh?" I questioned.

Rose blushed. "W-well, yes, you can say that. I did, um, manage to skip a few grades..."

"Oh really? So you must be a bit younger than me." I surmised.

"I may be 14, but I'm not a child." Rose said sternly, looking a bit peeved. I guess she doesn't like being reminded of her young age by someone older than her.

"Of course not," I agreed. I knew what it was like to not be taken seriously by people older than you, simply because of your age. "Anyways, what's that tablet in your hand?" I asked, changing the subject.

Rose handed it to me. "I'm actually not sure. It was on the table when I entered this room. It can only be unlocked by some sort of 4-digit passcode..."

The tablet's screen displayed exactly what Rose described. A 4-digit passcode...Well, I got nothing to lose.

I entered; 1-2-3-4.

To absolutely no one's surprise, it didn't work.

"No dice." I sighed, handing it back to Rose.

"Yes, I've been guessing anything that comes to mind, but it remains locked." She walked towards the table and set the tablet in the center.

"It must not be that important if our kidnapper just left in the middle of a table." I shrugged. I could live with not knowing what was on the tablet, I just wanted to get the hell out of here. Oh, and this ankle monitor off...OH, and the ability to use my real name instead of some ugly shade of red.

"Hey, just out of curiosity, has anyone else passed through here?" Azure asked Rose.

"No, not since I've been here." Rose shook her head. "I believe if there is anyone else, they're already ahead of us."

"What makes you say that?" I questioned.

"I was in the last room in the hallway and as I walked through, I noticed only two doors closed from the 16 left. I assume you two were the occupants of those two rooms." Rose clarified.

"Oh yeah, you're right." I nodded. "Every other door in the hallway was closed."

"16 open doors, huh..." Azure repeated. "So there's 18 of us."

"Maybe one of them has already found a way out." Rose suggested, smiling.

"True, that is a possibility." I nodded. "We should keep moving."

The three of us were in agreement, and we left the room. The way out of the room was via yet another long hallway. This time, however, the hallway was lit with painfully bright white lights, and lined with silver rails on the sides. The hallway was lined with glass on either side, teasing us by showing the outside. Unfortunately, the only thing visible was the night sky.

"We must be pretty high up." Rose surmised. "You can't see anything else but the sky..."

"Which means that push comes to shove, this isn't a suitable escape route." Azure sighed. "Wouldn't want to fall to our deaths."

Unfortunately Azure was probably right. If we really were high up in whatever building we're in, even if it was the third floor, we probably couldn't survive a fall. Freedom, the outside, was so close, yet so very far...

We kept moving and came to a flight of stairs. We climbed them, and came to a landing with double doors at the end. I immediately opened it and we were hit with a blast of cold air.

The room we now were in appeared to be some sort of a restaurant-style, modern kitchen. There were countless numbers of industrial ovens and stovetops, and pieces of equipment I had no idea how to use. There was a door at the end of the kitchen, probably leading to some sort of dining room.

Most importantly in the room, however, was a girl going through one of the multiple refrigerators. She is a girl of average height, with a slim hourglass figure (and a pretty sizable chest & hips). Her skin is pale, her eyes blue, and her wavy hair is a reddish blonde color, tied into a loose bun with a very interesting hamburger themed bow. I noticed a small mole under her right eye.

She wears a black and white striped long sleeve shirt, with a black suspender skirt with strawberry buttons. Her white socks reach her thighs, and are decorated with many fast food patterns. Lastly, she wears light grey sneakers with those same strawberry buttons from her skirt on the sides.

"Hey," I called.

The girl quickly turned her attention away from the fridge and towards us. She smiled and quickly made her way over to us.

"Hi there! You must be the last three." The girl said. Her voice was pleasant and energetic, befitting of her quirky appearance.

We introduced ourselves to her.

"It's nice to meet you!" She smiled. "My code name is Cherry, a shade of red."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Cherry_

_Ultimate Talent: Food Critic_

* * *

"Cherry?" I chuckled. "So we have Crimson, Azure, Rose, and Cherry. These codenames sure are creative..."

Cherry giggled. "Well it may be a bit strange, but it does fit my title as Ultimate Food Critic quite well!"

"Food critic?" I nodded. "Sounds cool. How's our food situation looking here?"

"Well," Cherry sighed, crossing her arms. "There's no five-star dishes _or_ ingredients in here, but I believe someone could possibly whip up a decent dish."

"As long as it's nothing bitter, I don't mind." Azure chuckled.

"Same here!" Cherry beamed. "I put up with bitter food in order to critique them, but I'd honestly rather not have to eat them." She admitted, blushing.

"Sweets are definitely the way to go." I agreed. "Anyways, we should probably keep going and looking for the way out. Don't want to waste any time, right?" I suggested.

"Oh, hang on, lemme get Frost. He's in the freezer." Cherry quickly walked over to a large walk-in freezer across from us.

"Frost?" I repeated. Geez, guess these codenames really can be anything...

A second passed and Cherry walked back out, this time with a boy following her.

He's a little bit on the taller side (at least 2 inches taller than me) and has a decent build. His russet brown hair is cut in a crew cut, which compliments his periwinkle eyes. His skin is a warm beige.

He wears a pink apron over his cyan blue shirt. In the corner is a design of a steaming hot cup of coffee (which I could totally use right now). His pants are black, and his shoes are dark blue sneakers.

"Ugh, the coffee beans here are trash quality," He sounded rather disappointed, like he was planning on making a cup of coffee with them. "And some genius decided to put them in the freezer..."

Cherry giggled. "Oh Frost, you are _definitely_ the _Ultimate_ Barista."

"Barista?!" I exclaimed. Everyone looked at me with a rather weird expression on their faces, but I didn't care. "Man, I've been dying for a cup of coffee!"

"Oh really?" The boy, presumably known as 'Frost' looked at me. "I could fix you up a cup later if we have the time."

"I think I'll take you up on that offer." I smiled. "I'm Crimson, the Ultimate Actor."

Azure and Rose also introduced themselves.

Frost nodded. "It's nice to meet you all, considering our circumstances. As I'm sure you've heard from Cherry, my codename, regrettably, is Frost, a shade of white. I'm known as the Ultimate Barista."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Frost_

_Ultimate Talent: Barista_

* * *

"Y'know, me and Frost were discussing it, and it's quite weird that we don't know each other." Cherry frowned. "He's the Ultimate Barista, and I'm the Ultimate Food Critic, who's reviewed more restaurants and cafe's than I can count! And yet, our paths haven't crossed..."

"Huh, now that you mention it..." Azure looked me up and down. "You don't look all that familiar, Crimson...but aren't you supposed to be the Ultimate Actor?"

"None of you recognize me?" I asked, trying my best not to sound like a pompous asshole. Everyone shook their heads. "You guys haven't seen the live-action Sun Witch Esper Ito? It's new, but it's a pretty popular show." Not that I was offended by their lack of knowledge of me, but I was sure at least one of them might've recognized me. I mean, not to be cocky or anything, but I've been in a decent amount of shows, movies, and advertisements, after all.

"I'm not really a fan of television," Rose admitted. "Maybe that's why?"

"Sun Witch Esper Ito?" Cherry repeated. "I love that show!"

"Then you'd recognize me," I surmised. "I play Prince Kirishima."

"Hm? Prince Kirishima?" Cherry looked at me funny. "I don't think I remember him."

"Seriously?" I asked in surprise. "He's the main antagonist. He goes all the way back to episode 1. "

Cherry looked perplexed, putting a hand to her forehead. "That's so weird...I know who you're talking about, but I can't remember ever watching him...I can't even remember his voice or what he looks like..."

"I think we're all a little on edge." Rose said. "Our minds probably aren't in the best shape right now."

Cherry sighed, but nodded. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll probably remember later and punch myself for forgetting!" She laughed.

"Regardless of whether we know each other or not, I think all of our immediate goals right now are to escape, yes?" Frost asked.

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Definitely." I agreed. "I've been ready to get the hell out of here since the moment I woke up."

"Well then, let's not waste any more time." Frost suggested. He gestured towards the door.

We all looked at each other and nodded, making our way to the door.

I stopped as Rose opened the door, thinking to myself.

I don't know why I'm here...Is this some bizarre prank conducted by my agent, or one of my crazy co-stars? If it was, I just desperately wanted it to be over. I've never longed to sleep in my own bed this much, or to see my parents...All these people seem nice enough, but I just feel still feel so **alone**. I can't even use my own name here!

I sighed, knowing that whining wasn't going to get me out of this situation.

_I have to find a way out of here._

* * *

_A/N: _**Woo-hoo! The first chapter is up and officially ready to go! It's been a long time coming and I hope you all like it! Alright, lemme cover a few things:**

**-The codename mechanic! Something I didn't incorporate into the story until today! The codenames themselves aren't all that important, but the concept of them is. Identity is a huge part of this killing game, and there's a reason that a certain someone doesn't want the kids telling each other their real names. All will be revealed as the story goes on. And for those authors who loved the names they came up with, don't worry! Your character's real names will eventually be revealed. **

**-I've PMed you if your character has been accepted, and also included a cast list in Prologue (Part 1). If you've submitted a character that hasn't been accepted yet, please don't worry, I'm still going through them, and trying to see whether they'll fit into the story :)**

**-Gender/talent list! I didn't really that so many people would want to see the submitted talents and genders, but after an overwhelming response, I've included both lists both on my profile and on Prologue (Part 1). I will try to update often. **

**-Updates! I live in Florida, and Hurricane Dorian is heading my way. I'm not sure how bad he will be, but I just wanted to let you guys know in case I don't respond to your PMs. **

**-Remember, there is still a lot of time left before the deadline! Spread the word to your friends to get your characters in**

**Alright, thank you guys so much for reading! Please let me know what you think of the characters introduced so far (including Seizo/Crimson)! Do you have any favorites already? Or do you have any death predictions already? ;) Please make sure to let me know in the reviews :)\**

**(Also what are your favorite quotes of this chapter? Mine definitely have to be Azure's "**After all, that 9 PM curfew your dad gave me is wayyyyy too early.**"** **Seizo/Crimson's "**OH, and the ability to use my real name instead of some ugly shade of red.**")**

* * *

**Old Updates (that are still important)**:

_**NEW DEADLINE!**_

_**UPDATE: August 27th**_

_So it's been two days since the deadline has passed and I still don't have enough characters :( I waited two days to see if anyone would simply submit later, but since that appears not be the case I am extending the deadline by **ONE MONTH**! That means the new deadline will be **September 27th**._

_I really want a nice, big pool of characters to choose from, and the additional month will hopefully give me enough time._

_I have already accepted a few characters, and am planning on revealing them to you soon! Thank you for your patience and please remember to submit more OCs! :)_


	3. Prologue (Part 3)

Prologue (Part 3)

* * *

Pushing my negative thoughts to the back of my mind, I took a deep breath. The sooner we continue exploring this place, the sooner we can find a way out.

I followed Azure, Rose, Cherry, and Frost out of the kitchen door and into the next room.

As expected, the kitchen led to a dining room. It was rather simple and small. There were four medium-sized glossy white tables, with five chairs at each table. Simple paintings of various flowers lined the walls, which I think just might be the first colors I saw in this place.

Most interestingly in the room, however, was a man sitting on a chair, fiddling with a gold pocket watch.

He's a little taller than myself, and decently built. He has shiny and short black hair, and rather squinted green eyes.

His outfit is very much put together, with a crumpled white shirt under a grey waistcoat and matching trousers, and polished black shoes.

He noticed us right away, setting down his watch.

"Ah, hello." He smiled, getting up from his chair and walking over to us. "I thought I heard voices in the kitchen."

"Well, you thought right." I said. We introduced ourselves to him (in which he seemed pretty interested in Rose's talent as the Ultimate Prodigy).

"I suppose it's time for my introduction," He said. "My code name is Onyx, and I am the Ultimate Salesman. I'm not too sure about what's going on here, but I think it'd be best to remain as calm as possible for the time being."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Onyx_

_Ultimate Talent: Salesman_

* * *

Working in the acting industry, I get to meet a lot of people, and salesmen are like those annoying ticks that won't go away. They constantly try to sell me or my agent some super expensive product that they promise works, or get us to advertise it to my fans in exchange for a quick buck. They can definitely be annoying as hell, but Onyx seems nice enough.

"Maybe you can sell me my future car someday," I joked. "Anyways, I know you said you didn't know what's going on here, but you must've been awake longer than the rest of us. Did you find out anything while you've been looking around?"

Onyx shook his head. "I've only traversed as far as this room. To be honest with you, I got a little tired and needed a break from searching around."

"Yeah, I get it, I've had this pounding headache since I woke up." Azure sighed, rubbing his head in frustration.

"Same here." Frost said. "I thought it was from lack of caffeine, but it looks like we all have one."

"It is pretty annoying." I groaned, remembering how it felt like not to have a hammer being bashed into my skull. Not to be melodramatic or anything, but seriously, it fucking hurts! It's gotten better since I've woken up, but my head still feels like a construction site.

"For real," Cherry frowned. "It's making it a little harder to think straight."

"So, we all have a headache..." Rose muttered, glancing at the ceiling in thought. "It could possibly...be the effect of **drugs**."

"Drugs?" I repeated. Does she think we all got high together before this or something?

"I'm thinking that we didn't take any drugs out of our own volition." Rose surmised. "Our kidnapper probably used them to put us to sleep." I thought too when I first woke up. The feeling of uneasiness, the confusion...If our kidnapper drugged us, the side effects would explain a lot of my feelings. But what I still don't understand is why? What the hell did we do to deserve this?

"Ah," Onyx nodded, realizing what Rose was suggesting. "It'd definitely make it easier to transport us here if we were unconscious."

"They used some strong stuff," I frowned. "We're still feeling the effects of it after like, an hour..."

"Hm, maybe our kidnapper had an **ulterior motive**." Rose suggested. I'm not sure what she meant.

"What do you mean?" Cherry asked, curious.

"Well, I-I'm not exactly sure," Rose sheepishly blushed. "But it doesn't take a powerful drug to knock someone out. So, I was just thinking that maybe the drug that our kidnapper used was meant to knock us out, and then do something else..."

"I see what you're saying," Azure nodded. "But I wouldn't worry too much. We all seem to be in pretty good shape, sans our headaches, right?"

"Only time will tell what our kidnapper had in mind by kidnapping us," I shrugged. "Or, the more preferable option: we could escape before we ever meet them."

Frost nodded. "We should be getting back on track to finding a way out."

"Agreed. I'm ready to get out of this prison." I said.

As we looked around for the door, we realized there was in fact two. They both clearly looked like they led to two different hallways.

"We should split up." I suggested. Everyone looked like they were in agreement.

"But how?" Azure asked. "Should we draw straws or something?"

"I don't think that's necessary," Cherry giggled at Azure's suggestion. "Let's just split up by something easy...like the alphabetical order of our code names!"

"So if we're splitting up into two even groups, that'd mean it'd be Azure, Cherry, and I, and then Frost, Onyx, and Rose." I deduced.

"Sounds fair to me." Frost nodded, glancing at Onyx and Rose.

"I have no problem with the groupings." Onyx smiled, eyeing Rose.

"Then that settles it, I suppose." Rose waved to me and Azure, who I guess she felt a connection with since we met up first. "It was nice meeting you two. I look forward to getting out of here, together."

"Likewise." Azure waved back.

The trio headed out of the door on the right, while Cherry, Azure, and myself were left with the door on the left.

"Well, it looks like you can't get rid of me!" Azure smirked, opening the door for Cherry and me.

"Hey, I'm here too!" Cherry giggled. She walked through the door and I followed, with Azure trailing behind us.

We ended up in a round room, with the door behind us labeled "DINING - MAIN ENTRANCE". Like the rest of this place, it was bright and white, with no windows. There were double doors on the left of the room, and a single door on the right. Upon further examination, the left lead to "LAUNDRY" and the right to "COMPUTER LAB".

"Oh, computer lab!" Cherry immediately pointed out. "Maybe we can use a computer to contact someone from the outside?"

"Sounds like a plan." I nodded, smiling hopefully. The three of us made our way inside.

The computer lab was a plain, medium-sized room, with 6 glossy white tables with four expensive-looking desktop computers on them. It was a fairly dark room, with the majority of the light coming from the computers' blue monitors. Sitting on two computer chairs were two girls.

On the left chair sat a very well-dressed girl who gave off an aura of seriousness and no-nonsense. Almost made me want to drop and give her twenty...

She's a girl of average height, standing about 5'6". She has straight light blonde hair, with her fringe tied into a small half-ponytail with a white bow. Several strands are left to frame her clear and even face. Her eyes are blue, framed by silver glasses and her ears hold silver dangly earrings.

She wears a sheer, high-necked long-sleeved black blouse with a black and white neck bow adorned with a silver brooch, and a flower pattern embroidered in black along the sleeves and around the neck and chest area. Underneath she wears a black spaghetti strap top. She also wears a dark grey skirt, black tights, and navy blue pumps.

To her right sat a girl with orange hair, with a side ponytail on the right sight. She is a little shorter than 'Well-Dressed girl'. She's wearing a grey backpack that looks strangely empty.

She wears a black, short-sleeved shirt and a grey mini-skirt, with black military boots (much more of a casual outfit than 'Well-Dressed girl', which I kinda dig).

"Hi!" 'Orange hair girl' chirped, noticing the three of us after we entered the room. "Are you also fellow kidnappees?" She asked in an oddly positive tone that kinda creeped me out.

"Uh, yeah." I nodded. "I'm Crimson, the Ultimate Actor."

"It's very nice to meet you!" 'Orange hair girl' sprung up from her seat and made her way towards us.

"Likewise." Azure smiled.

"Same here!" Cherry also smiled.

The two of them introduced themselves.

So far, this girl definitely seems like the type to lighten the atmosphere in the room. Hell, even I felt like smiling at her and giving her a hug. But I decided against it.

"My codename is Noir, a shade of black, and I have the pleasure of being the Ultimate Spy!" She did this weird peace sign pose that made me internally cringe.

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Noir_

_Ultimate Talent: Spy_

* * *

"Ugh, _you're_ a Spy?!" I was a bit taken aback. I never would've guessed that this little ball of energy was a spy.

"Yup yup!" Noir nodded. "But don't worry, I don't work for the mafia or anything like that!" She giggled.

"Aw, but that would've actually been cool!" Cherry laughed along with Noir, apparently already getting along with her. I guess gingers like to stick together.

"My apologies for the late introduction," The 'Well-dressed girl' suddenly spoke up. She gracefully stood up from her seat and made her way towards us.

"I am the Ultimate Photoshoot Choreographer," She started. "Apparently, my codename is Diamond, a shade of white. A pleasure to meet you."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Diamond_

_Ultimate Talent: Photoshoot Choreographer_

* * *

"The pleasure is mine." I bowed. "I know how important your job is, and how stressful it can be with difficult talent."

"Ah yes, as an actor you must have done a number of photoshoots," Diamond surmised. "It's always preferable when the subject is cooperative."

I chuckled, glancing downwards as I remembered my various photoshoots and the fellow models I've worked with. It was then that I noticed; on Diamond's ring finger, a shiny and sparkly** engagement ring** with several tiny, heh, diamonds.

Jeez, I guess people are marrying younger and younger these days. Not that I care. As long as two people love each other, and want to spend the rest of their lives with each other then I say go for it. But still, Diamond must be of high school age like the rest of us, and she's engaged. Scandalous!

Azure brought me out of my train of thought. "You don't recognize Diamond, Crimson?" He asked.

I looked at Diamond, and thought.

...

...

...

No dice. She doesn't look familiar to me at all.

"Sorry, no clue..." I answered, honestly a little frustrated. I thought I would recognize her...

"It's quite alright," Diamond reassured. "I have a little bit more to go in my career before I really make it."

"Same here." I nodded. "The entertainment business is a tough one to make a name for yourself in."

Noir turned towards Diamond after finishing a conversation with Cherry.

"Oh, hey, Diamond! Do you think these guys could crack the **computer password**?" She asked. Computer password?

Diamond looked around at us, before shaking her head. "Like with us, I don't think their talents will be of any help in this situation."

"Oh, darn!" Noir sighed, crossing her arms.

"Computer password?" I repeated.

Noir nodded. "All of these computers are locked with some sort of password that we can't figure out."

"Like the** tablet** from downstairs!" Azure said.

"Yes, I've already tried to unlock that one as well." Diamond replied.

"It's like these kidnappers are taunting us," Cherry frowned. "Leaving stuff like this out in the open but with no way to use it..."

"How cruel..." Azure sighed.

"I'm determined to unlock at least one of these computers." Diamond proclaimed. She bid farewell to us and started to work on unlocking a computer.

"I guess I should continue helping out too!" Noir giggled. "I've been guessing the passwords that I've learned over the years from the people I spy on."

"Ooo, sounds exciting, count me in!" Cherry smiled.

"Cherry, aren't you going to help us find a way out?" I raised a brow.

"I am! If we unlock one of these computers, we can call for help." She suggested. Hm, I think she's just getting lazy and wants to sit down...Not that I blame her.

"Fine, but come find us when you've tired yourself out with guessing." I urged.

"Of course," She smiled. She immediately ran to one of the computers and started to type away.

I sighed, looking at the computers in the room. We had a means of communication, but no way to use it. Damn it!

Azure suddenly nudged me, presumaby seeing my frustration.

"Don't give up yet," He smiled. "There's still more rooms to search."

I nodded. "You're right." As much as I wanted to punch a hole in the wall, I needed to keep it together. Finding a way out needs to be my number one priority. If I unfortunately don't, then we can revist the idea...

The two of us left the room and went across the hall to the laundry room.

It was a very plain medium-sized room, with bright fluorescent lights illuminating the four washers and four dryers.

An anxious looking boy was sitting on top of a closed dryer, fiddling with the knob that controlled the cycles.

He is a little shorter than me, and has white hair, with black bangs. His hair covers his dark brown left eye.

The boy wears a white hoodie with a black skull and crossbones design. He also wears blue shorts with black and white sneakers.

"Hey," I called out.

Upon noticing us he immediately jumped and squealed.

"AHH!" He yelled. "P-please don't hurt me!"

"Wow there, calm down," Azure said, holding his hands up. "We're not here to hurt you."

"R-really?" He asked hesistantly.

"C'mon, do we really look that intimidating?" I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"N-no!" He insisted. "I didn't mean to o-offend you..."

"Don't worry about it," I reassured. We introduced ourselves, after which he seemed more relaxed to know that we were, in fact, fellow kidnappees.

"Um, my c-code name is Cloud, a shade of white." He said. "And I'm the Ultimate Occultist."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Cloud_

_Ultimate Talent: Occultist_

* * *

Ooo, spooky. I've starred in plenty of movies and shows involving ghosts and the supernatural. Honestly, it's kinda made me believe in them a little bit...As with Azure's cryptids, Cloud's ghosts would definitely make life a whole lot more interesting.

"Ghosts, huh?" Azure nodded. "I'm not sure how real they are, but it'd definitely be cool to find out they exist and discover one of them! Have you? Ever discovered one, I mean?"

"U-uh, yeah." Cloud sheepishly replied. "I've done multiple r-rituals and have managed to contact the other side."

Azure smiled. "You'll have to invite me to your next one. Maybe I can find out where Big Foot is from one of his victims."

Cloud offered a small smile. "S-sure! Most ghost are nice and don't do anything b-bad."

"Well, that's good to know," I nodded. "Anyways, Cloud, have you found anything in here?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, s-sorry. The only thing in here is washers and dryers. Oh!" He suddenly exclaimed. "And, um, t-these,"

Cloud held out his hand, revealing a weird packet of powder. "I t-think it's deteregent?"

"Yeah, it is!" Azure said. "I used powder detergent when I went camping. It's a lot easier to pack and mixes right away with water."

"Interesting..." I slowly said. Powder detergent definitely isn't something you see everyday. I read in some article somewhere that it's better to use to get out mud and dirt, easier to store, and is slightly cheaper. I guess that's why our kidnappers chose it?

"A-ah!" Cloud suddenly yelped. He put his head in his hands and turned away from us. "_Please_ go!"

Me and Azure shared a look of confusion as Cloud continued to shoo us away. He sounded serious and honestly a little creepy, so the pair of us quickly obliged.

"I wonder what that was about." Azure frowned. "Maybe a panic attack?"

"Caused by what?" I wondered. Cloud seemed like a nice guy, just a little on the paranoid side. "We don't know the guy, so let's leave him alone for now. We can check up later."

We left the laundry room with no new information or a way out.

I quickly saw a light at the end of the tunnel, however.

Seriously, there was a light at the end of the hallway.

"How big is this place?" I remarked.

Azure shrugged, smiling. "Just gives us more opportunities to find a way out, right?"

"True." I chuckled.

As we made our way down the hallway, I noticed more windows on the side, all revealing nothing but the dark, starry sky. I wonder how high up we are...

At the end of the hallway were double doors, leading to a big room.

It was rectangular shaped and styled very differently than the rooms we had encountered thus far. Instead of white floors, white walls, and white ceilings, the room was covered in dark blue carpet, and the walls were colored a pale grey. There were 10 doors on each side of the room, each with the design of something related to space on them...

"Weird." I said.

"I think it's pretty cool," Azure said, brushing his hand over a door with the design of Saturn on it.

"I mean, yeah," I replied. "But it's just kinda weird. Of all the things to decorate doors with, why space?"

"Maybe our kidnappers have a thing for the cosmos," Azure shrugged, smiling. "Hey, maybe that's why they kidnapped you! You are a 'star' after all."

...

...

...

"I think that's the corniest thing I've ever heard, but a solid 8 out of 10 pun overall." I laughed.

Just then, two people walked out of one of the rooms.

The taller of the two is a boy probably the same age as me. He's well built and has tanned skin. He has messy orange hair (with the middle being clipped back with a blue hair clip), and blue eyes.

He wears what looks to me like a green pilot uniform, with the top half tied around his waist, revealing a dark blue shirt. He also wears black combat boots and has a pair of sunglasses tucked into the collar of his shirt

The second of the two is also a boy, but much shorter than both myself, 'Tall boy', and even about an inch shorter than Azure.

He has fluffy white hair and purple eyes, with his right eye bearing a scar, and tan skin.

He wears a white long sleeve pull-over sweater over a black polo, with his sweater bearing the design of a question mark. He wears black jeans and white sneakers.

I could hear the two talking about something.

"I don't fucking know, alright? Aren't you supposed to be the expert, anyway?" 'Tall boy' rolled his eyes at 'Question-mark boy'.

"Escaping requires a lot of time, a lot of information, and a lot of items." 'Question-mark boy' sighed. "It's not as easy as you think..."

"Ugh, whatever, you haven't helped me out at all," He shook his head, which is then when he noticed Azure and I. "Hey! You two, you know the way out?"

We made our way over to the two of them.

"Nope, we're just as clueless as you are." I answered.

"God damn it..." He muttered.

"Hello," 'Question-mark boy' smiled as he noticed us. "My codename's Cotton, a shade of white, and I'm the Ultimate Escapist, as in escape rooms and stuff. It's nice to meet someone who doesn't have anger issues!"

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Cotton_

_Ultimate Talent: Escapist_

* * *

"Who the hell are you saying has anger issues, you little shit?!" 'Tall boy' yelled. Cotton seemed unfazed.

We introduced ourselves, hoping to calm the tension in the air.

"So an actor, and some shit called a cryptid enthusiast? So looks like I still have the most useful talent here." 'Tall boy' smugly smiled.

"And, uh, what might that be?" I asked, resisting the urge to punch this ginger asshole in the face. I mean, shit, he's basically the real-life version of my character on Sun Witch Esper Ito!

"Tch," He scoffed. "I can't tell you my name, but you're telling me you don't recognize me? I'm THE Ultimate Pilot. In this stupid ass situation, my codename is Sunrise, a shade of orange."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Sunrise_

_Ultimate Talent: Pilot_

* * *

I wouldn't want this bundle of joy piloting my flight, that's for sure.

"So, Cotton, what's in the room?" I asked, turning towards the sane one of the two.

"I guess it's supposed to be my bedroom," He answered. "You should have a key too; from the incinerator room."

Bedroom, what the hell? I guess that everyone woke up in the same situation as me and had to solve that mini puzzle. I tried to remember the ending...

_"Damn it!" I groaned, shoving the key into my pocket and rolling my eyes._

_That was it, there was literally nothing else for me to do...or so I thought._

_I felt a buzz in my pocket, coming from the phone, and turned it on._

_The "PRIZE" icon was bouncing, and upon clicking it, confetti and the words "Congratulations!" filled the screen._

_After the 'cute' little graphic, all displayed on my screen were several little boxes, with only one of them lit up with the number [001]. I clicked on it and read the following:_

_**Task**: Find your [TEMPORARY] room key._

_**Reward**: Unlock any one door. [Redeem?]_

Huh, the phone did mention something about a room key. I dug around in my pocket and sure enough, I still had the key.

"Why do we need a room and a room key?" I asked.

Cotton shook his head. "No idea. It's almost as if our kidnapper is setting us up in a bed and breakfast."

I thought about it and Cotton's line of thinking was pretty right. The kitchen, dining room, laundry, and now bedrooms? Hey, maybe this isn't so bad after all.

I turned to see Azure fiddling with his own key. "So, Crimson, should we check out the inside?"

"There's nothing there," Sunrise interjected.

"I think they can see for themselves, Sunrise..." Cotton sighed, crossing his arms.

"Go fuck yourself, little shit." Sunrise too crossed his arms, giving Cotton a threatening look.

Why the hell did these two decide to investigate with each other?

"Sure, Azure, let's go." I replied. "I'll, uh, see you two around once we find an escape."

"Not if I find it first!" Cotton smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sunrise looked uninterested.

I eagerly followed Azure away from Cotton and Sunrise. Cotton seemed nice enough but I could tell that Sunrise would eventually drive me insane.

Azure was heading to a door with the design of the Sun on it.

"You think this one's yours?" I asked.

"Look," He said, showing me his key. On the top part of the key was a smaller design of the design on the door.

"Oh, I see..." I answered. Our keys' design probably match up with the door's design.

He put the key and the lock and turned it.

Unsuprisingly, it unlocked.

We entered the room, and immediately were hit with orange. Lots and lots of orange.

The room was a decent size, with a queen sized bed, dresser, desk, and a desk chair. There was also a very small bathroom with only a toliet and a sink. The room was covered in orange, from the walls to the bed sheets to the carpet underneath the desk.

"I guess they really stuck with the Sun theme." I remarked.

"Hey, I kinda dig it!" Azure laughed, looking through the drawers of the dresser.

"Really?" I said. "I mean, your name's Azure, a shade of blue, but your room is orange."

"Huh, you're right..." Azure said, sounding like he had a realization. "Why do you think our kidnappers made us have codenames? Moreover, why'd they choose our codenames to be what they are..."

I shrugged. "Beats me, man. We don't even know each other so I don't know why they want us to hide our identities."

Azure also shrugged. "Well, it's not that big of a deal. Once we get out of here we can tell each other anything without worrying about being 'punished'."

I glanced down at my ankle monitor, which felt like a weight tying me to this place. I thought about one movie I starred in, where I trapped a group of teenagers in a mansion and they couldn't leave or the ankle monitor on their ankles would explode.

I shuddered at the thought of becoming a baked Seizo, and smiled at Azure.

"Well, my friend, let's move on and make that possible." I proposed.

"Sounds like a plan." He nodded, glancing around the room once more before opening the door and walking out.

At the end of the room was a door simply labeled 'REC CENT'. We hurriedly passed the arguing Cotton and Sunrise and headed into whatever the hell 'REC CENT' stands for.

The room before us was another big square hallway, with three doors; two on the left and one on the right.

The two on the right were simply labeled 'F SHOWERS' and 'M SHOWERS', presumably standing for female and male showers, respectively.

The one on the left however looked like it led to something interesting, so we entered that one.

We were greeted with a pretty stellar sight. The walls were all glass, and revealed the very starry night sky. The floor was black and had several tiny, color-changing lights in it, resembling colorful stars. There were two black couches in the middle of the room, with a coffee table in between them. The right wall had shelves and were lined with various board games, puzzles, CDs, and other forms of entertainment, and the left wall's shelves were lined with several different books.

A girl was flipping through a book near the left shelf.

She's a little taller than average, and has pale skin. She has blue eyes and styles her medium length auburn hair into a 'lob with bangs'. She wears blue rimmed glasses.

Her sweater is blue, her jeans her blue, and her sneakers are...maroon. Interesting. I could notice a tattoo of a tree on her left ankle.

"Anything interesting?" I asked as Azure and I walked up to her. She turned in surprise but smiled once she saw us.

"No, not really." She answered, setting the book back on the shelf. "Nothing that tells us a way out either!"

We introduced ourselves, and after she asked us a couple of questions about our talents, she did too.

"My codename here is Merigold, which is a lovely shade of orange." She said. Huh, maybe she'll get along with Sunrise.

"It's nice to meet you," I nodded. "What's your ultimate talent?"

"'Ana almutarajim alnihayiyu." She, uh, 'answered', giving Azure and I a sly smirk. What the hell language is that?

"Sorry, I only know Japanese and English," I nervously laughed.

"Soy el traductor definitivo." She said, looking very proud of herself.

I looked to Azure for help but he simply shrugged.

"Oh, c'mon guys! It's not that hard to learn 10 different languages!" Merigold laughed. "I'm the Ultimate Translator."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Merigold_

_Ultimate Talent: Translator_

* * *

Ah, makes total sense. A human Google Translate, I suppose.

"I didn't do so well in English classes, so for me, yeah, it kinda is." I remarked.

"I'm sure you just haven't found the right teaching method," Merigold said. "If you want, I can help tutor you!"

"Maybe once we get out of here," I said. "So, anything interesting in here?"

Merigold shook her head. "Nothing to help us escape, if that's what you mean."

"Figures." I sighed. We haven't had any luck so far in finding a way out, so why would we now? "I mean c'mon, they put these big ass windows to show us the outside but they're so high up we have no chance of leaving..."

"Uh, about that, Crimson..." Azure suddenly said. I looked over to see him observing the back wall. "There's something you should probably see."

I looked at Merigold who shrugged. "I didn't get a chance to look at the windows before I noticed the books."

We both walked over to the back wall to see what Azure saw. And once we did, I could see why he thought I'd want to see it.

The glass wall revealed the night sky, and once you looked down you could see... the night sky.

But it just wasn't normal, something wasn't right...The stars were just so abundant and looked so vivid. And the sky was just so eerily dark, like the blackest thing you've ever seen. As you looked down, all you could see was darkness and the stars; no sign of the ground or anything else, including the moon.

I've been in sky scrapers and tall buildings during night before, but I've never seen anything else like this.

I looked at Azure and Merigold who both had the same stunned expression.

It's like it's something...**out of this world**.

* * *

_A/N_: **Phew, this one took a while! I hope you guys are just as excited as I am to get this story going! **

**So, we have more characters introduced in this chapter. I might introduce the rest of the characters in this next part of the prologue, or I might go ahead and do two. **

**And just to let you guys know, I absolutely despise writing appearance descriptions xD It's by far my least favorite part of starting a new story. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing your guys' creatives minds come up with such cool characters, but when you have to write twenty of them, it justs gets so old. Hopefully, I created an adequate enough picture so that you guys can get a picture in your head.**

**Please let me know what you think of the story so far! Any and all feedback is definitely encouraged; I love seeing your guys' responses :)**

**I'll try to get out the next part by the end of the month, but no promises! I'm taking a college placement test later this month and have dedicated a lot of time to studying for it. Moreover, now that the moving is done, I have to unpack everything Dx **

**Have a great day/night wherever you are, and see you guys in the next one!**


	4. Prologue (Part 4)

Prologue (Part 4)

* * *

It was weird and honestly a little unsettling seeing so many stars and so much darkness, but I guess the area we're currently in doesn't get affected by light pollution as much as other parts of the world.

"If only I had a camera." Azure sighed, shaking his head with a slight smile on his face.

Merigold also smiled. "I agree! This reminds me of the night sky in Spain..."

Huh, I guess I can see the beauty of being surrounded by stars. It was definitely a lot better and dreamier than being surrounded by neon signs, billboards, and street lamps. Heh, maybe I'm better off living in space or something since there's nothing of the sort there...Eh, then again, maybe not. The thought of living in the great unknown is super unsettling.

Azure, Merigold, and I chatted a little more about the beauty of stars, but than it was time for me and Azure to head out and keep looking for a way out of here. Merigold said she was going to keep looking at the books in here, trying to find anything about the situation we're in. I didn't have a whole lot of faith in her book-related investigation, but I wished her luck.

"See you guys," She waved as we approached the door. "_Anyeong_!" I could only guess that that meant 'good bye'.

* * *

"Whaddya think," Azure said after we exited the room and he turned to look at the showers. "Is our way out of here in one of the shower rooms?" He asked in a joking tone.

I chuckled. "I, unfortunately, doubt it, but we can't _not_ look, y'know?"

Azure nodded understandingly and volunteered to look inside the girls showers.

I opened the door of the boy's showers and saw pretty much what I expected. On the left were fifteen white lockers, and on the right were three standard showers. No windows or anything else was in sight.

There was, however, a tall boy looking through the lockers.

He's quite a bit taller than me, probably standing at around the intimidating height of 6'6". He has bright white hair and equally bright golden eyes that look friendly and welcoming.

He wears a dark grey suit coat, a white dress shirt with a green tie, black dress pants, and black dress shoes.

"Hey," I called. The boy instantly turned around and met me with a warm smile. He looked rather imposing given his height, but it was hard to be scared of him when his face was lit up with a smile. Even his eyes looked like they were smiling...

"Why hello, my good man." He waved, walking over to me. "You are also one of the kidnapped, yes?"

I nodded and introduced myself. His eyes lit up at the mention of my Ultimate talent.

"Ah, excellent! Than you must have heard or seen of me once or twice," He claimed. "My codename here is Silver, a shade of grey, and I'm the Ultimate Television Host!"

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Silver_

_Ultimate Talent: TV Host_

* * *

...

...

...

Yeah, no. Just like with Diamond, I have no idea who Silver is.

"Uh, sorry, but my memory escapes me." I apologized. I hope I don't offend the guy.

Silver nodded. "Ah, so you're like the rest then. Not to sound cocky, but not one person here remembers me, and I host one of the most popular game shows in Japan! I am the host with the most, who sends teams of two out into dangerous obstacle courses all for a prize of a couple of thousand bucks."

"Maybe I'll remember your show once the stress from this situation alleviates," I suggested, trying to stay positive. Hey, maybe this whole situation is some sort of TV show, perhaps hosted by Silver? It'd mean that we weren't in any danger! Highly unlikely, but a boy can dream...

"Perhaps." Silver nodded. "Well, don't stress yourself out too hard trying to remember. It'll come to you when it comes to you."

I nodded. "True. Anyways, anything of importance in here?" I doubted that the locker room would hold the mystery of our captivity, or provide a way to escape, but hey, you never know.

Silver glanced around and shook his head. "Doesn't look like it. I searched every locker and didn't find anything. And of course, the showers also led me nowhere."

"Figures," I sighed. "Didn't expect a shower room to be of much help to us."

"True," Silver chuckled. "But, just a thought: maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad."

I raised a brow in surprise. Does Mr. TV Host want to stay kidnapped forever? "What makes you say that? Wouldn't you rather go back home to your friends and family?" Not to mention your most likely high paying TV host gig?

"Ah, friends and family is something I'll definitely miss," Silver started. "But, we have everything we need here: food, shelter, entertainment, all without having to put in any labor or pay any bills. Isn't that the definition of a utopia?"

I frowned. "I don't think paradise involves being kidnapped against your will."

"Hm, yes, there is that little detail..." Silver muttered, rubbing his chin in thought. "Well, I'm sure we'll find out what's going on in due time. Perhaps all we have to do is wait." Yeah, no...

"I'm going to keep looking around," I protested. "You should too. The more people that're investigating, the faster we'll get out of this place."

Silver claimed he'd continue investigating after his 'little break', but I wasn't so sure.

For some reason, this guy seems like he isn't too bothered by our current predicament. Maybe everything's not OK at home and he'd rather escape his troubles, even if it involves staying in this place. To each his own, I guess, but I'm getting out of here one way or another...

I left the boy's shower room with little more knowledge than I had before, except for the surprising fact that some kidnappees don't mind staying kidnapped.

I walked back into the hallway to find Azure conversing, or at least _trying _to converse with a rather meek-looking girl.

She has rather messy black hair that reaches her shoulders, with a red bow tied around the left side, and amber-colored eyes.

She wears what appears to be a beige dress shirt under a gray apron with the designs of bolts and screws on it. She also wears a plaid skirt, grey mid-calf length socks and black boots. On her hands are black gloves. She wears what looks like a pouch around her left shoulder. Lastly, she wears a pair of goggles around her neck.

"Ah, this is the guy I was telling you about," Azure said, pointing to me.

The girl nodded, not offering a smile or any words of introduction.

I smiled and waved to her.

She nodded again. Guess she isn't much of a talker.

"I'm Crimson, the Ultimate Actor." I introduced. "It's nice to meet you."

"...My codename here name is Lava, a shade of grey...It's nice to meet you..." She said.

"Uh, do you have an Ultimate Talent?" I asked.

"Oh, that's right...I'm also the Ultimate Tinkerer. Sorry." She said.

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Lava_

_Ultimate Talent: Tinkerer_

* * *

Tinkerer, huh? That explains the gloves and the goggles. Heh, she kinda reminds me of that one fairy from that one cartoon.

"Lava here is a little on the quieter side. I found her in the girl's shower room," Azure explained, sheepishly looking downwards. "She was, uh, a little surprised to see a guy in there, but I explained how we were looking around for an escape."

I chuckled at the picture of Azure scaring poor Lava by entering the girl's shower room. "So, is there anything interesting in the girls' shower room?" I asked Lava.

Lava shook her head. "Nope. Just a normal shower room."

...

...

...

Yeah, she definitely isn't much of a talker.

I explained what I had found and my interaction with Silver, to which Lava seemed to perk up.

"That Silver guy...he asked me if I wanted to talk with him instead of looking around..." She revealed. Damn Silver, he's really trying to get some instead of investigating?

"And you declined, I'm guessing?" I asked.

Lava nodded. "Yeah...I didn't really see a point in talking to him..." Hm, pretty blunt, I appreciate it.

And with that, the conversation was pretty much over. Lava said she was going to head back to the dining room to do some writing in a journal. I watched as she slowly walked through the door, looking rather relaxed.

"Well, she's nice isn't she?" Azure smiled, turning towards me.

"Sure." I nodded. She seemed to just prefer to be alone, which I could understand.

"Unfortunately, there wasn't anything in the boys; or girls' shower rooms," Azure said. "Or, uh, any of the rooms recently." He looked genuinely upset for the first time since I've met him.

"Oh God, I feel like I forgot to look somewhere! Or maybe I wasn't looking hard enough? I hope you don't hate-"

"Azure," I interrupted. putting my hands on his shoulder. "Calm down. You've done plenty in looking around and we've both done the best we can to find a way out. We haven't yet, but that's neither of our faults. Let's continue looking around, OK?"

He calmed down as soon as I started talking. "Yeah, you're right," He smiled. Then, with a completely serious tone, he said, "I'm going to hug you and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

And true to his words, he embraced me in a hug. It was a little weird and unexpected, but I guess kinda comforting. It made me realize how much I missed my family, who'd always greet me with a hug after I walked through the door...

After our unexpected hug, I playfully punched him in the shoulder and kept moving. There was another door at the end of this hallway. It was a single, steel one that looked like it should lead to a freezer or something.

I looked at Azure, observing his expression as I reached for the doorknob. He nodded with his usual smile on his face, signaling he was OK now. It was probably just a minor panic attack brought on by this bizarre situation. Not to brag or anything, but I've already had a few myself!

I opened the door.

The room was...interesting, to say the least. It was made of all metal, with lockers on the left side and another door on the opposite end of the one we entered through. There was also a large window next to the door that revealed a staircase leading to another room.

This time, we were greeted by a whopping group of four, all messing with the door.

"I _r-really_ don't think it's going to open, Mauve..." A timid girl said, watching a boy turning the door knob over and over again.

The boy in question, I guess whose codename is 'Mauve' is about my height, and is decently built. His black hair, with purple highlights, is styled into a short undercut style. His eyes are almond-shaped and purple. A scar goes over his right eye.

He wears a purple dress shirt with a purple bowtie, underneath a black vest. He also wears blacks slacks with black dress shoes, and lastly, black gloves.

"Well then, we're at a dead end." Mauve said, looking a little frustrated (an emotion which I've felt the entire time I've been stuck in this place).

The timid girl had a sad frown on her face as she and Mauve dejectedly moved away from the door.

The girl is also around my height and has a rather lanky frame, oddly thin and tall, almost like a flamingo. Her black hair reaches all the way to her thighs, and her eyes are blue. Her skin's a little on the paler side, and she bears a few faint, soot marks scattered across her body.

Her outfit definitely gives me Russia vibes. She wears a fur lined dress with a furry hat that's probably an ushanka. She completes her rather warm wearing outfit with matching fur lined boots and gloves.

Ah, and when I saw her talking before, I noticed she has braces.

Suddenly, a pretty looking girl laughed.

"Oh my _God_, you guys can't actually be serious?" She asked, I guess directed towards Mauve and 'the timid girl'. "If you give up that easily, the fans won't think very highly of you!"

Well, I have no idea what the hell she's talking about.

She, like Mauve and 'timid girl', is around my height. She has a skinny, but healthy, build.

She has curly dark ginger hair that falls down to her lower back. Her skin is clean and light, and she has bright blue eyes.

She wears a navy sailor school uniform, underneath a yellow fur coat. Lastly, she wears black platform boots (that made the 5'11 girl look more like 6'1") and two gold bangles on her right wrist.

Mauve, 'timid girl', and another boy in the room all looked at her with a face of disbelief as she began to look and, uh, _talk_ to a wall.

"Heyyyy! I know there's probably a camera hidden in there, so I just wanted to take the time and say hi to my fans!" She smirked, flashing a pose.

The other boy shook his head as he watched her.

He's a little on the shorter side, and has a rather skinny build.

He has a classic combination of curly light blond hair with blue eyes (that honestly makes me a little jealous...Damn you, genetics!). He wears a white shirt underneath a black vest, underneath a green coat. He also wears brown shorts and a pair of brown shoes with white socks.

He wears a brown satchel full of ~mysterious~ contents.

"There's no camera in there," Mauve claimed. 'Pretty girl' turned and glared at him.

"What do you know? Have _you _ever participated in a hidden-camera reality TV show with Junko Enoshima?" She asked, presumably rhetorically.

Mauve didn't answer.

"Thought so," She smirked, turning her head and noticing me and Azure. "Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in, guys!"

Everyone else in the room turned to look at Azure and I, blowing our 'hidden cover'.

"Uh, hi." I waved, a little intimidated by all the prying eyes. "My codename's Crimson, and I'm the Ultimate Acto-"

Before I could finish, 'pretty girl' suddenly hurried over to me and put her hand in mine. "Actor! Oh my gosh, I totally remember you! We worked on a movie together, remember?"

...

...

...

No, no I didn't. And there's no way I'd forget meeting someone like her.

"No, no I don't." I replied, slowly retracting my hand from hers.

"Oh, well, if I could tell you my name I'm sure you would," She laughed, looking unbothered. "My codename on this show is Royal, a shade of blue. And I am, of course, the one and only Ultimate Runway Model!"

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Royal_

_Ultimate Talent: Runway Model_

* * *

Ah, her talent explains her personality: she's a model!

...

...

...

Kidding, of course! Most of the models I've met are, thankfully, nothing like Ms. Full-of-herself over here. She certainly seems to think she's hot stuff, but I really have never seen her before.

"Royal here thinks this whole situation's a TV show," Mauve spoke up, looking vaguely annoyed.

"Because it so obviously is," Royal rolled her eyes. "Crimson's presence here basically confirms it." She turned to me with a sly smile. "You're probably like the mole or something, right?"

"Um, no, sadly," I replied. "Look, I kinda really doubt this is a TV show. We woke up locked in a room, remember?"

Royal shrugged. "Whatever. All I know is that this director better cut out all of that footage of me when I woke up. My makeup was _not _on point..."

Wow, she really does believe herself. I'm sure there'll be something to snap her out of this daydream, though. Hopefully, it's not anything too scarring, like a death or something...

I introduced Royal to Azure, forcing myself away from a conversation with her, and went to properly introduce myself to Mauve.

He held out a hand when he saw me turning toward him. I shook it.

"Codename's Mauve, a shade of purple. I'm the Ultimate Dealer." He said.

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Mauve_

_Ultimate Talent: Dealer_

* * *

Dealer?! Maybe he can hook me up! I could definitely use something right now...

But on closer inspection of his style, I, unfortunately, realized what he meant by dealer.

"You've probably been to Las Vegas, right?" I asked. Any good card dealer has to have been to Sin City.

"Born and raised," He revealed. "I've worked in the family business for as long as I can remember."

"You probably know how to play a good game of poker," I chuckled. "You'll have to play with me sometime."

"Only if you could spread the word of my family's casinos to your friends," Mauve said with a serious tone.

I nodded. "Sure, why not."

Mauve held out his hand again. "Then we have ourselves a deal." I shook it, and he nodded, satisfied.

I bid adieu to Mauve, and moved on to 'timid girl'. She was standing away from everyone else, looking rather lonely.

"Hey," I called. "What's your name? Er, um, your _codename_."

She looked up with a bit of a startle but smiled upon seeing me. "Oh, my codename's Indigo, a shade of purple. My talent is, uh, the Ultimate Daredevil..."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Indigo_

_Ultimate Talent: Daredevil_

* * *

Daredevil?! As in, doing crazy stunts over lines of cars, walking over hot coals, doing a flip in the air with a motorcycle, shooting yourself out of a cannon?! I couldn't imagine any teen doing any of that, let alone a shy girl like Indigo seems to be. Geez, I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover...

"...Isn't that, like, dangerous?" I asked, genuinely concerned for her well being. She's probably the same age as me, and its crazy to imagine myself doing any crazy stunts, or even being allowed to.

"Um, I've been in a coma once or twice. But I always bounce back," Indigo smiled with an innocent tone in her voice. "I love what I do and know how to stay safe, for the most part."

"I see..." I slowly nodded. "And you just do your stunts- not questions asked by the government or anything?"

"Oh, the government in Russia is not as strict as other places with these sorts of things," She explained. Ah, I knew she had some sort of accent! "And my parents' work allowed me to perform stunts from a young age."

"Huh, you're pretty tall." I remarked, looking her over once again. I was shorter than her, but not dramatically so. "How do you fit into cannons and stuff?"

She blushed. "It is a_ little_ difficult for me than other daredevils, but my sister actually designs custom cannons for me, so I can fit in them."

I nodded along as she talked but I still was in disbelief. She's braver than I'll ever be, that's for sure.

I moved on to the boy who was quietly in the corner.

"Hey," I called. He looked at me with a faint smile.

"Oh, I suppose it is time for introductions." The boy said, with an air of formality about him. "My codename is Sage, a shade of green. I'm the Ultimate Illustrator."

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Sage_

_Ultimate Talent: Illustrator_

* * *

So jealous. I've always been terrible at drawing, no matter how hard I've tried. It's like I was cursed to always draw like a 6-year-old...

"Oh, cool, you've probably worked on dozens of books, right?" I asked.

"Yes." He answered. "If I could tell you my name, you would most likely recognize it."

"Well, once we get out of here, I'll be sure to check you out," I said.

Sage nodded, and then suddenly pulled a notebook out of his satchel...and just started drawing. Like, right in front of me.

I was a little shocked, and slowly backed away. He showed no reaction whatsoever, almost like he was entirely invested in his drawing.

A little rude, but they do say that artists need to draw something at least once a day in order to keep breathing.

Once introductions were over, I asked the question I'd been thinking about the moment I entered the room.

"So, what is this room?" I asked.

Mauve, Indigo, Royal, and Sage all looked at me, unable to answer.

"No clue." Mauve finally said. "We've been trying to get this door open, but it won't budge."

"And that means that we're at a dead end!" Royal sighed, crossing her arms.

I realized she was surprisingly right. This was the only door left in this hallway, and if it wouldn't open, then we have no choice but to turn back around.

"There's always the other door in the dining room!" Azure suggested.

Mauve shook his head. "There's barely anything there." He revealed. "Just one or two rooms, and then a blocked-off staircase."

I could feel my heart beating faster. If there are no more rooms left, then...

"There really is no way out..." Indigo mumbled, looking rather anxious. I felt the same.

I imagined spending the rest of my life in this weird, creepy, unusually cold building. Or, the alternative, breaking one of the windows and jumping out. We might end up with a few broken bones, but at least we'd be out of this place.

Although, even then, there's no telling where the outside world leads to. We might be stuck in the middle of nowhere; an endless forest, a desert, hell, maybe even outer space.

I could see the looks on everyone's faces as they made the same realization as Indigo. No escape.

Some handled it better than others, however.

"C'mon then." Azure smiled. "Let's head back."

"For what?" Royal huffed. "We checked everywhere, there's no stone left unturned. Doing any further exploring would be totally pointless."

"To regroup," Azure answered. "Let's meet up with everyone and see if there's any new information."

"And if not?" I asked, a little frustrated by his happy-go-lucky attitude. I understand the importance of positivity, but the facts are pretty clear: we're stuck here.

Azure didn't have an answer but gave me a look that told me everything I needed to know. We'd handle it once we got to it...

Sage and Indigo silently agreed to Azure's plan, while Royal reluctantly went along. Mauve was in favor, as he figured that we'd do no good just standing around.

We left the locked-door room in silence and made our way through the various hallways towards the dining room.

I saw no one else in the hallways as we went along, figuring that they too might have come to the realization of there being no escape.

We entered the dining room full of empty emotions. Not an ounce of hope in any of us, even the positive Azure, who I could tell was also as freaked out as the rest of us.

Little did we know at the time, but once we left, we'd be full of nothing but despair...

* * *

_A/N_: **Sorry for the wait guys! At the pace that I'm going right now, it's safe to assume you can expect a new chapter every month, unless otherwise stated. **

**November has been a busy month, but I'm finally on Thanksgiving break (and next month I have Winter break, so I might be able to put out two new chapters in December...)! I finally got the time to polish up this chapter, and publish it. **

**We have two more characters left to introduce: Scarlet and Emerald. Sorry to their creators for their absence in this chapter, but I didn't want to cram too many characters in here so that you guys wouldn't be able to remember everyone. Please let me know what you think of the characters introduced in this chapter, as well as any theories you may currently have. **

**Expect something shocking to happen in the next chapter (a little callback to a previous Danganronpa game), which is part of the reason this chapter took so long. You'll understand as soon as the next chapter comes out! **

**Thank you guys for your support, and I'm looking forward to going on this journey of a story with you guys.**


	5. Prologue (Part 5) (Final)

Prologue (Part 5) (Final)

* * *

Walking into the dining room was like walking into the first day of school. The looks on everyone's faces: some of which used to be filled with such vivacious, bright smiles, were replaced with looks of anxiety and uncertainty about what was going to happen.

The conversations being held were quiet, and no one looked like they were discussing anything but the situation we were in.

I could see Cherry and Noir chatting a table. However, their cheerful attitudes were no longer visible. And there was also Cotton and Sunrise, who seemed to be arguing about something, but even then, they weren't as emotional as before.

Overall, it was a pretty depressing sight, but was more than warranted given our situation.

After Mauve, Royal, Sage, and Indigo took a seat at an empty table, with Cloud standing by himself in a corner (who although looked a lot better after his sudden emotional outburst, still looked like a nervous wreck), there was only one table left for Azure and I to sit at.

There were two girls who I've never seen before sitting at a table by themselves, having an idle conversation.

One of the girls was on the shorter side of things, although she still looked to be about an inch taller than the unfortunately tiny Azure. She has slightly tanned skin, and light green eyes framed by flared eyelashes. Her long, wavy hair is light brown, with a few copper and gold highlights scattered here and there.

She wears what looks like something out of The Mummy, a short-sleeved blue blouse, with the bottom being tied into a knot, and a light brown jacket with no sleeves, donning several large pockets. She also wears khaki shorts, dark green and white spotted socks, and brown hiking boots.

Regarding accessories, she wears quite a lot. She has a silk indigo-colored bandana tied around her neck, decorated with what looks to be various famous artifacts. She also wears a white string around her neck, with a small compass on it. She has navy blue gloves, a charm bracelet, a bejeweled blue flower pinned on the left side of her hair, a bandaid on her right cheek (does that count as an accessory?), and moon-shaped, amber-colored earrings. Phew, it must be exhausting getting ready in the morning!

The other girl has a much more simplistic appearance and is a little taller than myself. She has a relatively thin overall build, with the exception of her curvy hips. Her hair is wavy, and reachers her shoulders. It's mostly dirty blond but has black strands scattered throughout, perhaps the work of a failed dye job. She has light blue eyes.

She wears a large, white tank top, the designs of music notes and paint splatter decorating it. She wears skinny black shorts, with chains attached to the ends.

Azure and I catiously approached the table and took a seat when it was apparent neither girl seemed to mind.

The shorter of the girls spoke up first. "Hey, nice to meet you guys! My codename's Emerald, a shade of green, of course. I like to call myself the Ultimate Treasure Hunter, but _~offically~_ I'm the Ultimate Archaeologist. Treasure Hunter just sounds so much more exciting, right?"

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Emerald_

_Ultimate Talent: Archaeologist_

* * *

Wow, another ball of energy, huh? Archaeologist, or 'Treasure Hunter' as Emerald says, definitely sounds like an interesting talent. Emerald's probably gotten to go to so many interesting places, which makes me a little jealous...

Azure and I introduced ourselves. Emerald looked rather uninterested in my talent as the Ultimate Actor, but her eyes lit up at Azure's talent of being the Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast.

"So cool," She gushed. "I have yet to discover the remains of anything mythical just yet, but I definitely hope to!"

Azure smiled as yet another person praised him for his unique talent. "I'll definitely make sure to invite you on my next expedition when we get out of here!"

As the two talked, I turned my attention to the other girl, who simply observed Emerald and Azure's conversation in silent.

"Hey there," I called. A little startled, she turned her attention to me. "What's your name?"

"Oh, um, hi. My codename is Scarlet, a shade of red. Hope's Peak admitted me under the talent of 'Ultimate Modern Dancer'..." She introduced. She trailed off at the end, sounding a little unconvinced of her talent.

* * *

_Name: ?_

_Codename: Scarlet_

_Ultimate Talent: Modern Dancer_

* * *

A dancer, nice. It's always something I've struggled with: learning choreography, being agile, etcetera...When I was younger, I considered asking my parents to move us to the United States so I could try out broadway acting, but my lack of singing and dancing ability basically reaffirmed my decision not to...Hey, maybe Scarlet can teach me some moves!

"Scarlet? That's a cool codename," I complimented. "Mine is Crimson, so we're both shades of red, which means we _have _to be friends."

Scarlet smiled. "Sure, sounds cool."

Scarlet didn't seem to be a very talkative girl, but she didn't seem shy or mean or anything. Some people just like to be by themselves, kinda like Lava and Sage.

"Yeah, I bring her everywhere with me, but I don't know where she is..." I turned to see Emerald with a slightly anxious expression.

"What's up?" I asked.

"It's her cat," Azure filled me in.

Emerald sighed. "I haven't seen her anywhere. But the last thing I can remember before this is having her next to me..."

I frowned. "Yeah, I still can't really remember where I was last..."

Azure nodded in agreement. "I have an idea, but my memory is still kind of foggy."

"All I can remember is me petting Isis...which is what I'm doing 90% of the time, anyways," Emerald laughed.

The mystery of our kidnapping continues...No one knows what happened to us, or what's going on. I wonder if we'll ever find out.

"_**Ahem**_," A loud voice suddenly snapped all of us to attention. "Is this thing on? Hellooooo?"

It was a squeaky voice that sounded like a mixture between a lovable cartoon character and a comedy movie villain if that makes sense. The voice also sounded like it came from a speaker (despite there not being a visible one)...

"What the hell?" I heard myself say. I could feel a pain in my stomach, and like something bad was about to happen. Glancing around, I could see some of the others also had the same uneasy feeling as me.

"I bet you all are wondering what's going on right now," The voice said matter-of-factly. "Is this the voice of God? Am I dead? How did I die? Where did I die?" The voice trailed on with more rhetorical questions for at least a solid 30 seconds.

"Ugh, get on with it already, fuckwad." Sunrise mumbled. For once, I agreed with the pilot.

"Well, do not fret!" The voice said. "Head into the announcement room and all will be revealed!"

And with that, there was a 'click' sound, like a microphone being turned off. Everyone immediately began discussing what the hell just happened, including Emerald.

"The announcement room? That must be the room with the stairs and the stage." She theorized.

"Uh, what?" I asked. Out of all the rooms we had investigated thus far, I couldn't remember seeing one with a stage or stairs.

"It's in that room," Scarlet explained, pointing to the door in the dining hall that Frost, Onyx, and Rose had gone through. Ah, that explains why I don't know what the hell the announcement room is.

"Should we really listen to a mysterious voice?" Cotton suddenly spoke up, addressing all of us.

"What else is there to do?" Frost sighed. "We kinda don't have a choice..."

"We can't just sit here and do nothing." Onyx said.

"I don't know what's going on, but listening to the voice is our only option for now." Diamond claimed.

Cloud said nothing but nervously fumbled with the sleeves of his hoodie. Me too, buddy, me too...

"I'm sure everything will be OK!" Noir cheerfully smiled.

"Yeah, hopefully." Cherry smiled, though she sounded a little bit more unsure than Noir.

"I suppose we'll have to see what the voice has to say," Rose said. "Maybe we can finally learn why we're in this place."

"This situation is very strange," Merigold noted. "Including this new, mysterious voice!"

Lava looked to be in deep thought as she wrote in her journal, presumably about our situation.

Sage sat in his chair turned away from the rest of his table, drawing. Upon closer inspection, it looked like the same drawing from earlier.

"Get ready to meet the host guys!" Royal smirked, touching up her make up. I guess she's still on that whole TV show thing.

"If this really is a TV show, I'm sure they wouldn't have picked something with such a grating voice to be the host," Silver chuckled. "Naturally, _I'd_ be the best decision."

"Let's just get this over with." Mauve sighed, crossing his arms.

Indigo looked rather anxious as she kept fumbling in her chair, looking like she couldn't find a comfortable position.

I turned to my right and could see that Azure looked pretty calm. His smile was a little less bright than usual, but hey, it was still a smile.

He turned to me and his smile widened. "I'm sure that everything's going to be fine. Ya just got to keep calm, y'know?" He asked. Huh, I guess he already forgot about his panic attack less than an hour ago.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. In a few minutes, I was going to find out why I was kidnapped against my will with 19 other students accepted into Hope's Peak Academy.

Was the outcome going to be something positive? Like, maybe this is what they do to all the new students? A little practical joke? Maybe even a lesson to see how we react under strange circumstances?

Or, the more frightening option...That our kidnapper has something twisted in mind for us. Maybe we'll be sold to the highest bidder and used as work slaves. Or, maybe they want to harvest our organs and leave our rotting bodies in the Atlantic ocean. Hopefully, they won't mess up my face too much...

With our discussion pretty much over, it was unanimously decided that we venture into the announcement room to hear what the voice had to stay.

People started to get up from the tables and walk in, some more hesitantly than others...

Eventually, everyone had left the dining room, with the exception of Azure and I.

"Can you believe it?" He asked.

I raised a brow. "Believe what?"

"We're finally going to get some answers," He clarified. "Why we're in this place...where this place even is."

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy," I sighed. "Although, I'm not too optimistic about the outcome. After all, we _were _kidnapped and drugged, there's no doubt about that..."

"Whatever happens in there," Azure started. "I know we'll get through it."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, not feeling the optimism this time around.

"We'll have each other," Azure explained with a smile. "I'll have your back and you'll have mine, right?"

I thought about his words. Even if this were some sick situation where we could die, it'd be nice to have a stranger by your side rather than no one at all.

No...not a stranger. Azure's a friend. And even though I'm still scared shitless about what's about to happen, I know that he'll be there to help calm me down.

"Of course," I smiled back, feeling a sense of relief. "Out of everyone here, there's no one I'd rather be kidnapped with than you!"

Azure chuckled. "Well, I'm flattered. Are ya ready?" He asked, turning towards the door to the announcement room.

I took another deep breath and nodded. "I think I'm ready as I'll ever be."

We walked towards the door and I opened it, entering the announcement room where we were supposedly going to get the answers we had been searching for.

* * *

The announcement room was as plain as the rest of this place. The walls and floor were a dark grey, similar to the incinerator room I woke up in.

There were rows of what looked like movie theater chairs, it looked like there was probably around 4 rows of about 10 chairs. There was also a stage with a microphone. Most interesting in the room was a staircase near the back of the room, next to the stage, blocked off by a gate.

Everyone from the dining hall were now sitting in the chairs, chatting amongst themselves. There was no one on the stage yet.

I took a seat with Azure next to Rose and Frost, both of whom I was glad to reunite with.

"Find anything interesting in your exploration of this room?" I asked.

Rose shook her head. "No, sadly...The only thing in this room is the stage and chairs. Of course, we _were_ interested in trying to go upstairs, but the gate blocking the staircase won't budge."

"There's a room in the back, behind the stage. I guess it's supposed to be an equipment room, or something." Frost elaborated.

"Yes, though no equipment that will be of any use to us." Rose sighed. "It's honestly a little strange. There are things like knives, wooden planks, high-intensity flashlights, rope, empty spray bottles...Basically random things that make no sense to have in this place."

"Maybe the people were thinking they needed to do repairs or something, eventually?" I suggested.

"That's what Rose, Onyx, and I thought." Frost nodded. "However, despite everything else in the room, there wasn't the common tools that one would obviously think to have in case of repairs."

"Yeah, it was weird. No screwdrivers, nails, power tools, or anything." Rose affirmed. "There were a couple of hammers, but that was about it."

"It's like you're describing a serial killer's closet!" Azure joked. I guess he was trying to lighten the mood but it honestly creeped me out a little. A closet full of killing supplies?

Our conversation and thoughts were cut short by the lights turning off.

"Aaahhh!" I heard someone scream. I think it was pretty safe to say that it belonged to Cloud.

"Wow, I did not sign up for this!" Royal's voice was easily recognizable by her haughty tone.

"Stay calm everyone! I just need to look in my bag for my night vision goggles and then I can find the light switch..." Noir said in a heroic sounding voice. "...Huh?! They're not in here!"

Luckily, we didn't need Noir's night vision goggles. The lights switched on, revealing the strangest sight I think I've ever seen.

Sitting on the podium of the stage, in front of the microphone, was a half black-half white...teddy bear?

"Oops!" The bear (?) suddenly said. Immediately, everyone gasped, screamed, or muttered 'what the fuck?'.

I myself was in a state of disbelief and shock at the talking bear (?), and could do nothing but sit and watch.

"Sorry you guys, I flipped the wrong switch!" The bear explained. "I _meant _to turn the microphone _on_, but I accidentally turned the lights _off_...How_** beary**_ careless of me!"

At this point, I think everyone felt the same way as me. No one said a word, and all eyes were on the bear (?).

"Annnyyywayyyssss, I'm sure you're all feeling very eager to find out why you're on this ship!" The bear giggled.

"Uh, ship?" Cotton repeated.

"That's right!" The bear nodded, suddenly standing up to reveal his full, unimpressive height of 2'1". I felt a little better upon seeing how small he was.

"My name is Monokuma, and I am the pilot of this ship, the HFH Enterprise!" He revealed. Monokuma? Ship? HFH Enterprise? Now I have even more questions than answers!

People begun to snap out of their shock and were now hurling questions at the bear (?), er, Monokuma.

"Woah, woah, woah! One at a time people! Contrary to popular belief, bears can not answer more than one question at a time while on top of a podium." Monokuma frantically held up his arms in defense.

"Uh, I'm not sure that that's a popular belief..." Cherry remarked.

"What the hell are you?!" Sunrise asked.

"I am Monokuma!" Monokuma answered, looking angry. "I am a member of the _Urisdae_ family, also known as BEARS! Don't you people get it already?! I'm not a teddy bear, or a robot, or a teenage girl with big boobs!"

"But you're talking..." Onyx frowned. "I may not be the smartest guy out there, but I'm _pretty _sure bears don't usually talk..."

"Thanks to the lessons bestowed upon me by my school teacher, I've been able to talk since I was a cub," Monokuma remarked. "That's how I was able to tell my mom and dad that I bagged my school teacher!"

"You put a bag on your teacher?" Rose raised a brow.

"Uh, no, Rose..." I sighed.

"Why are we in this place?" Diamond asked, the question which had long been looming on all of our minds since the moment we woke up. "You mentioned you're a pilot of the HFH Enterprise. I fail to see any of our connection to such a ship, so why were we taken here?"

Monokuma giggled. "Oh, trust me, one of you definitely remembers the connection with the HFH Enterprise..." He ominously said. "But, you asked for an answer and you shall receive! The HFH Enterprise isn't only a ship...it's your very own, brand new, world!"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Merigold asked, her voice a little shaky. I began to fear for the worst regarding his answer.

"It means what it means! This ship is to become your new home! Enjoy the many amenities that it offers, because it's what you'll be surrounded by for **the rest of your life**!" Monokuma revealed, smiling widely as he held a claw up to his face.

"No way, you can't keep us here forever!" Emerald protested. "We'll just find a way out!"

"Puhuhu...good luck with that!" Monokuma cackled.

"But w-why?! W-Why us?!" Cloud cried.

"Grr, I have a grudge against students of Hope's Peak, that's why!" Monokuma answered angrily. Then he giggled. "Just kidding! You're going to have to wait a teeny tiny bit longer to find out!"

"OK, this is totally not funny anymore." Royal frowned, crossing her arms.

"If this is supposed to be a ship," Azure suddenly asked. "Then where's the water? Are we on an upper deck, or something?"

Monokuma giggled once more. "I never said it was a ship on water!"

Huh? If we're on a ship...but it's not a boat, then...

The wall on the right of the room suddenly started open. It was not one wall, but two put together, and they slowly moved away from each other, revealing a window behind them. And the window, showed us a sight completely out of this world.

"That's right, kiddos! Toto, I don't think we're on Earth anymore," Monokuma said, acting like he was about to faint. "We're hundreds of miles away in **OUTER SPACE**!"

The window showed us various, vivid celestial bodies, all twinkling with the stars. I think I could even see a planet in the distance.

"Th-that's impossible!" Diamond remarked, ever so slightly flustered. "This 'ship' is nowhere near equipped for space travel."

"Oh, honey, times change and money does wonders!" Monokuma replied. "This ship is equipped with the top-notch of top-notch equipment! Anti-gravity, an infinite supply og sweet, sweet O2 cleaner than on any place on Earth, water tanks that will last hundreds of years, you name it!"

"But what about like waste and stuff?" Cotton questioned with a frown. "Isn't that why astronauts wear diapers?"

"Not to sound like a bad Star Trek movie, but onboard the HFH Enterprise, human waste and trash are incinerated by laser beams and evaporated into O2!" Monokuma answered. At this point, I couldn't tell if he was exaggerating or actually serious.

Are we really in space? I mean, that'd explain a lot of things. The lack of any light from the sun or moon, not seeing nothing but stars out the window, not seeing the ground...But still. This whole things totally fucked up.

"Then explain this to me," Cotton said, standing up from his chair and walking over to the stage. "Why do we have **codenames**?"

Monokuma's smile vanished and was replaced with a neutral expression. "The reason for your codenames isn't important! Just use them!"

"Heh, really? Can't offer up an answer?" Cotton smirked. "Y'know, I doubt anything would happen if we used our actual names..."

Monokuma grew visibly angrier the longer Cotton spoke. I also began to grow a little worried, recalling the note we were given on our phones after we escaped the incinerator room.

Cotton smiled and turned towards us. "C'mon guys! Let's just tell each other our **real names**! What's this tiny ball of fur going to do?" He laughed.

"You first..." Sunrise said, rolling his eyes, not taking Cotton seriously.

"OK then!" Cotton nodded. "My name is Tak-"

As Cotton spoke, his ankle monitor started beeping, cutting him off.

"Huh?" Cotton frowned. Nothing seemed to be wrong with him. Maybe the 'punishment' Monokuma told us about was untrue after all.

"Um, as I was saying," Cotton continued, projecting his voice louder. "My name is Takum-"

_**BEEEEEP**_

There was one final beep before Cotton's voice stopped. He looked at us with wide eyes.

"C-Cotton?" I called, honestly a little scared. "Are you OK, man?"

He said nothing but slowly fell to the ground. Then, his mouth fell open and dark, crimson red blood started to pour out like some kind of waterfall from hell.

"AHHHH!" Someone screamed. Then more of us started to scream, yell, and even cry at the bloody sight. Overall, it was pretty clear that everyone was shocked and in disbelief at what just happened.

Being in the first row, I felt obligated to check on him. I quickly rushed to his side and knelt down. "Cotton! Tell me what's wrong?!"

He didn't answer, and instead just shakily pointed to his ankle monitor.

I positioned his body in a way that he wouldn't choke on his blood and then checked out his ankle monitor. Around the edge of it, I noticed a little bit of blood.

Azure and Rose appeared next to me.

"Um, l-let me see," Rose said, bending down to our level. She lifted up his pant leg and ever so slightly moved his ankle monitor.

"Injection marks!" Azure noted.

"From what?" I asked, my voice shaky as I could do nothing but watch Cotton writhe in agony in my arms.

"Some kind of tranquilizer?" Rose guessed, trying to see what else could be wrong with Cotton. "O-or maybe it's-"

"Poison!" Monokuma finished. Everyone turned their attention from Cotton to Monokuma, who looked the least bit bothered by the bloody mess at his feet. "To be more specific, Cotton here has been injected with a _deadly _dosage of **Despiscocide**!"

"What the fuck is Despiscocide?!" Sunrise yelled, a little more flustered than normal. My guess is that even though he wasn't Cotton's biggest fan, he didn't want to see him like this.

"Despiscocide is a favorite drug of mine!" Monokuma giggled. "Not only is the name cool, but the effects are pretty gnarly! Once injected into the bloodstream, Despiscocide travels allllll the way up to the major organs of your body, destroying them one by one in a matter of an hour! Cotton is currently having his stomach _**obliterated**_!"

"Y-you're gonna kill him!" Emerald frantically yelled.

"Puhuhu, that's the plan!" Monokuma said. "He did break one of the rules, after all!"

I thought about the message on our phone-things about not revealing our real names, or we'd be punished. But...

"Still! You never specified what the punishment was!" I argued. "How's it far to kill him when he didn't know the consequences!"

"Grr!" Monokuma growled, holding a claw up. "A punishment is pretty self-explanatory!"

"No way!" Noir protested. "When my parents tell me I'll get in trouble for doing something wrong, I never think they're going to kill me!"

More and more protests about how unfair it was filled the room. Even the usually quiet Sage and Lava spoke up, not wanting Cotton to die.

"It was reckless for him to try and reveal his name like that, but he was ignorant of the exact consequences." Sage frowned.

"He didn't do anything wrong!" Lava argued, her voice a little louder than I'm used to hearing. "He doesn't deserve to die, either."

Monokuma looked incredibly frustrated at our yelling, and finally, let out a great sigh.

"_FINE_, ya brats!" He yelled. "I'll take Cotton away for treatment! But next time suddenly breaks the rules, don't be surprised when I leave you to die!"

Monokuma jumped off from the stage and walked over to Cotton. At this point, Cotton was fairly motionless. You wouldn't be able to tell he was alive if not for his slow, labored breathing. Monokuma surprisingly snatched Cotton away from me as if he didn't weigh a thing, and took him onstage.

He pulled a syringe out of this, uh, bellybutton, and injected Cotton with it.

"Hey!" Onyx yelled. "Are you trying to kill him again?"

"No siree!" Monokuma shook his head. "This is the only known cure for Despiscocide. It will immediately stop the spread of Despiscocide, and eventually reverse the effects."

Monokuma then carelessly set Cotton on the ground. "In the meantime, I'll see to it that Mr. Escapist is taken care of."

"Why'd we trust a roach like you?" Scarlet frowned.

"Putting aside your very cruel insult," Monokuma sniffed, feigning sadness. "I have a medical degree and my nursing license! You can trust me with anything!"

"S-someone get me out of here!" Cloud suddenly screamed. The reality of our situation began to sink into us as we processed what happened to Cotton. The blood from his mouth had stained my shirt and pants, and a small pool had formed on the floor.

"I want to go home!" Cherry cried.

"M-me too...!" Indigo said, in between her sobs.

"Oh my God...are we going to die here?!" Merigold exclaimed. "Je ne veux pas mourir!"

"I can't die yet, I haven't hit 100 million on social media!" Royal protested.

"Relax, relax, RELAX, you guys!" Monokuma ordered. "Jeez, you guys are worse than the other two! Quit that crying, it's going trick my mind and make me lactate!"

"Gross..." I muttered.

"If your heart truly desires to escape, there _is _one option..." Monokuma revealed. Immediately, everyone began to quiet down. Even Cotton turned his head a little bit.

"If you wish to return home to Earth, and be in your own bed for Christmas, have I got a special treat for you!" Monokuma giggled.

"If you kill one of your classmates and get away with it, I'll fly you right to your own front door! That's right, folks, we have ourselves a **Killing Game**!"

...

...

...

"_WHAT_ the FUCK?!" I yelled. "Are you insane?"

"Kill someone, get away with it, and go home? You make it sound like child's play." Frost scoffed.

"You're sick is what you are!" Emerald shuddered.

"Puhuhu...me? Sick? Insane?" Monokuma repeated. "On the contrary, I'm just being nice! I _could _keep you here forever, but I instead am offering an alternative! Kill one of your classmates, deceive everyone else, and you're home sweet home!"

"No one would ever kill just to go home!" Azure frowned.

"Oh, you'd be surprised! When someone's homesick, there's no telling what they'll do!" Monokuma cackled. "I bet one of you will be dead by the end of the week!"

End of the week...We really are stuck here...There's no escape anywhere on this ship. The only way out of here is through murder.

Right now, I knew I didn't have it in me to kill anyone. But what if someone does?

I looked around at my classmates, watching their expressions. I quickly realized everyone was doing the same. Observing each other in order to find out what everyone else was thinking. Of course, seeing as we can't read minds, I had no idea of truly knowing if anyone else was thinking about Monokuma's offer.

"Anyways, we've had a nice chat, but you guys wanted me to take care of Cotton over here," Monokuma jumped back down from the podium and picked up Cotton again. "So I'll catch ya later!"

As quickly as when Monokuma appeared, he was gone. And so was Cotton.

The strange bear left us with nothing. Yes, we were given _some _answers, but we were also flooded with more questions.

We're in space.

We're on board this spaceship because it's our 'new home'.

We can't use our own names because...Monokuma doesn't want to tell us.

If we truly want a way out, we can kill someone and then get away with it.

This whole situation was just so surreal.

I pictured myself pinching my arm, and waking up from this nightmare:

I'd get ready for school, eat breakfast with my mom and dad, and then go to school. After school, I'd go to the studio and do some filming, then be back home in time for dinner. Then, I'd get ready for bed and wake up in the morning, doing it all over again.

But I knew that it wasn't going to work. Cotton's blood on my clothes proved it.

As hard as it was to believe, this whole kidnapping thing was real. I didn't know why this was happening to us, or what even happened up until I woke up here, but the facts were clear:

There's no way out. No escape.

My stomach hurt, my heart ached, and I just wanted to scream.

Why me?

Why _us_?

I thought about what Monokuma said about the hi-tech features of this spaceship, about how we had a infinite amount of O2 available for us.

We may be able to breathe, but I still feel like I'm suffocating here...

* * *

Prologue (**END**)

* * *

**Surviving Students**

1\. Seizo Morine (Crimson) - Ultimate Actor

2\. Azure - Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast

3\. Scarlet - Ultimate Modern Dancer

4\. Rose - Ultimate Prodigy

5\. Royal - Ultimate Runway Model

6\. Cherry - Ultimate Food Critic

7\. Frost - Ultimate Barista

8\. Onyx - Ultimate Salesman

9\. Lava - Ultimate Tinkerer

10\. Merigold - Ultimate Translator

11\. Noir - Ultimate Spy

12\. Cloud - Ultimate Oculist

13\. Diamond - Ultimate Photoshoot Choreographer

14\. Silver - Ultimate TV Host

15\. Sunrise - Ultimate Pilot

16\. Indigo - Ultimate Daredevil

17\. Emerald - Ultimate Archaeologist

18\. Mauve - Ultimate Dealer

19\. Sage - Ultimate Illustrator

_20\. Cotton - Ultimate Escapist_

Normal = Alive

_Italicized __= In Danger_

**Bold = Deceased (V = Victim, K = Killer, P = Punished)**

* * *

_A/N_: **Woo-hoo, new chapter! This Thanksgiving break I decided to take a break from homework and worked on this story instead. I got some story planning done, and wrote this chapter. This chapter marks the official end of the prologue, so now the fun can begin!**

**I already have an idea for the motive, but I'm still choosing between who'll be the victim and killer. It's so hard choosing which of your guys' amazing characters to say goodbye to :(**

**Thank you guys for reading! Please let me know your thoughts in the reviews! Now that all of the characters have been introduced, do you guys have any favorites? Least favorites? I can tell you guys right now that although I love all of your characters, I really like Scarlet and Mauve! Don't worry, that won't influence my decisions on who to kill, lol!**

**Also, a bit more of the mystery of their kidnapping in this chapter. Monokuma _really _does not want the kids revealing their names to each other. And, if you caught a certain line of his, you can decide whether or not there is a mastermind...**

**Do you guys have any theories about anything right now? Victims? Killers? Maybe even the mastermind (if there is one?). Please let me know in the reviews :)**

**See you guys in the next one, hopefully by the end of the month!**


	6. The Fool and Her Groom (Part 1)

The Fool and Her Groom (Part 1)

* * *

After Monokuma's announcement of a 'killing game' and what happened to Cotton, the atmosphere in the gym was unbearably heavy, and I think everyone could tell.

Uneasy glances were exchanged between everyone in the room, as we realized that nothing would ever be the same. Even _if _we did manage to escape this place, the events thus far would still haunt us for forever. I'll probably have nightmares about animatronic bears for weeks.

Cotton's blood had left an unpleasant metallic smell in the room and the dark red of his blood looked especially prevalent against the dark grey of the floor. I don't think I've ever seen so much blood in my life...It was completely different from the movies. This definitely wasn't corn syrup with red food coloring...

I looked down at my hands and my clothes, and shivered. I didn't particularly care for this outfit or anything, but it was still unnerving to know I had the blood of another human being on me. Especially one who was painfully injected with poison and threw up blood.

"Soooo...what now?" Noir nervously laughed, trying to break the silence.

"There's really nothing we can do now," Mauve sighed. "I mean we've already looked all over this ship."

"And we know there's no way out, especially if we really are in space..." Frost said, glancing out the window that showed us the outside.

I remembered back to when I thought that as a last resort, we could just break a window and jump out. Thankfully, I hadn't acted on an impulse before finding out_ just _how high in the sky we are...

The unsettling silence came once again, before thankfully being interrupted with several -BEEP- sounds. We quickly realized that all of our 'phone things' we woke up with, had went off.

I pulled it out of my pocket (after wiping Cotton's blood off my hands), and the screen now displayed:

_Introducing your very own e-Handbook!_

"What is this, some iPad knock off?" Sunrise scoffed.

I tapped on the screen and it brought me back to the same screen where it showed my personal info.

_**WELCOME**_,

SEIZO MORINE (Crimson)

Ultimate ACTOR

**Gender**: Male

**Height**: 5'8"

**Weight**: 141 lbs.

**Blood Type**: A-

**Likes**: DVDs, free food

**Dislikes**: Paparazzi, tight spaces

I couldn't help but wonder how Monokuma found out so much personal information about us. My guess is we probably aren't going to find out anytime soon, though...

I tapped on the screen again, and now displayed was the same home screen I saw back in the incinerator room.

_**PROFILES**_

_**RULES**_

_EVIDENCE FILE_

_PICTURES_

_TEXT_

_**MAP**_

_**PRIZES**_

_**SETTINGS**_

"Oh, you can tap on 'rules' now!" Emerald suddenly exclaimed.

I raised a brow, but tried tapping on rules. Sure enough, Emerald was right!

"Ew, rules...why the hell do we have to have rules?!" Royal dramatically groaned, angrily stomping her foot on the ground. "I thought this was supposed to be fun!" ...Is she seriously still on her whole 'reality TV show' thing?!

"To keep us under Monokuma's control." Diamond wisely theorized. "If we could run around doing whatever we want, it probably wouldn't end well. Well, for him, at least."

"True, we are kidnapped, after all." I sighed. "We'd be stupid to think we'd be allowed to do whatever..."

"It might be unfortunate to be stuck here _and _have rules to follow, but it'd probably be best to follow them, or we'll end up just like Cotton...or worse." Merigold sadly frowned.

"Well then, I guess we'd better see what these rules are," I said. "Hopefully they're not _too _unreasonable..." Though I truly did hope for my words to be true, I wasn't holding my breath given the nature of our situation, and Monokuma's elaborate personality.

I glanced down at my e-Handbook and looked at the list of rules.

"Rule number one, students will live indefinitely on the HFH Enterprise, unless..." Rose started, looking uneasily at the rest of us. I gulped, knowing what was coming next...

"...Rule number two, students can leave the HFH Enterprise, returning home to Earth, if they manage to kill one of their classmates, and get away with it." I finished.

We already knew Monokuma's clause for escaping, but it was still unsettling to see it in writing.

"U-um, no one's thinking of k-killing anyone...right?" Cloud asked with a shaky voice, nervously looking at each of us with uncertainty in his eyes.

"I sure as hell know I'm not," I answered truthfully. "Especially not before we know the full truth of our kidnapping."

"True," Cherry nodded enthusiastically. "Who knows? Maybe we aren't actually in space after all!"

"Hey, maybe you're onto something!" Noir gasped. "I mean, wouldn't it cost a whole bunch of money to build a ship like this, and send it into space?"

"True," Azure agreed, looking rather excited at the idea of not actually being in space. "I mean, all this technology would have to cost _billions _to make."

"Trillions." Sage corrected, his arms crossed as he uninterestedly watched us conversate.

It was reassuring to think that Monokuma might be lying to us about our location, but it still didn't change the fact that we were kidnapped against our will.

"Moving on," I continued. "Rule number three, the use of codenames must be honored, or punishment via a deadly injection of 'Despiscocide' will be administered to the rule-breaker."

We all stayed silent, a little paranoid about even _thinking _of our real names. Seizo Morine? Who's that?

"Rule number four, violence towards Pilot Monokuma is strictly prohibited." Silver read, speaking up for the first time in a while. I couldn't help but find the guy to be a little suspicious given his indifference to literally being kidnapped. It's not that I'm expecting him to have a panic attack or anything, but c'mon man, show some emotion!

"Figures..." Frost frowned. "A 'deadly injection of Despiscocide' will probably be administered to anyone who tries to even touch the thing." He continued, mocking the previous rule.

"There's gotta be someone controlling him..." Mauve theorized, putting a hand to his chin.

Indigo shakily nodded. "I-I think so too...he couldn't kidnap all of us on his own, r-right?"

"He _did _have enough strength to carry Cotton." Onyx pointed out.

"Cotton's a fucking string bean," Sunrise scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He's probably as light as a feather."

Someone controlling Monokuma? It sounds pretty logical. I mean, no matter how weirdly insane this situation is, I don't think there's such a thing as a talking, half-black, half-white bear, so he's probably a robot or something. But who could be controlling him...? And why?

"Moving on," Rose started. "Rule number five seems kinda strange, don't you think?" She inquired.

I looked at rule number five, and sure enough, she was right; it was a little strange: _Rule Five: Any room before the kitchen is off-limits_.

"Any room before the kitchen?" Cherry raised a brow.

"That would include the rooms we woke up in and the room with the tablet..." Lava explained as she wrote in her notebook. Huh, I wonder why she's so attached to that notebook...

"Oh true!" Noir said. "Aw, man...I really wanted to try and crack that tablet passcode."

That's right! I almost forgot about the tablet left in the middle of the table. It was weird in the first place that it was left out in the open, and it's even weirder now that we can't go back and see it again.

"Rule số sáu," Merigold said. "Nighttime is a period between 10 PM and 7 AM. During this time, the kitchen and rec center will be closed."

"Nighttime?" I rolled my eyes. "We even have a curfew in this place?!"

Royal crossed her arms and sighed. "This is starting to feel a lot like prison, and I'm _really_ not here for it..."

"I guess we aren't allowed to get a midnight snack..." Azure sadly frowned.

"Or do some late-night reading..." Merigold sighed.

"Well, at least that's it," Rose smiled, showing us her e- Handbook. "Rule number seven just says that more rules can be added later."

"That wasn't so bad." Silver smirked. "You basically just have to act like a normal member of society."

"_And _change your name to a color." Scarlet frowned.

"Which I'm not really a fan of," Onyx sighed. "I mean, _Onyx_? That doesn't evoke the same strong, powerful personality like my real name does." He added.

"How do you think I feel?!" Sunrise groaned. "Sunrise sounds like a fucking My Little Pony..."

"OK, OK, everyone," Cherry nervously laughed. "I know some of our code names are questionable, but can we please move onto something else?"

"Like, what?" Royal asked in a snooty tone. "We're pretty much done here. I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to take a nap."

I guess there really wasn't much more to do. We've already looked all over this place, and the only new thing that we hadn't investigated was the rules.

Now that we knew all the rules, we're pretty much at a standstill.

Just when we thought there was nothing left to do, however, a chime rang out.

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise _official_ announcement! It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially **nighttime**. Certain locations will now be locked for the remainder of the night. Sweet dreams my passengers, let the sparkle of the stars and the roar of the spaceships's engine lull you into a _deeeepppp _sleep. Gooood niighhttt!" Monokuma's unnerving voice sounded from a speaker.

"Yup, that settles it, I'm totally going to bed now." Royal yawned, standing up from her seat.

"So we really are going to have to spend the night in this place?" Indigo mumbled, sounding rather dejected.

"Unfortunately, yes." Emerald sighed. "We've found no way to escape, after all..."

"And the only person who could possibly give us any advice is undergoing treatment." Merigold added, referencing Cotton.

That's right! As the Ultimate Escapist, shouldn't Cotton have an idea on how to get out of here? One that _doesn't _involve getting injected with Despisocide or killing someone else?

Unfortunately, we won't be able to get any help from Takum- seeing as he's undergoing treatment.

"It seems our only option is to go to bed and wake up with a clearer mindset." Diamond said.

"Sounds good to me," Lava said, yawning. "Good night..."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out tomorrow." Rose smiled, though she looked a little unsure of herself.

"Only time will tell." Mauve nodded.

"T-this is so scary," Cloud sniffed. "But I g-guess its better to work together in this situation."

One by one, everyone voiced their concerns over the situation, but acceptance of the fact that we can't do anything right now.

And one by one, everyone headed to their rooms, with the exception of Azure, Scarlet, Sage, and I.

Sage was still sitting down, drawing in his sketchbook. I decided against bothering him, as he looked pretty invested in what he was drawing. I did, however, see his drawing. It wasn't finished yet, but it appeared to be of a girl. Oooo, someone has a crush! In all seriousness, however, seeing Sage draw, it became clear to me just how talented the Ultimate Illustrator was.

Scarlet was also sitting down, a little away from Sage. I looked to see Azure busy trying to scrub away the blood from the floor, so I decided to approach her.

"You look tired," I commented. "Why don't you go to bed?"

Scarlet initially looked at me with a bit of a startle, but then smiled. "Oh, I do feel tired, but I just wanted to reflect for a little while."

"On what, if you don't mind me asking?" I inquired.

"This whole situation," Scarlet explained, turning her head to the window. The cosmos were still as vibrant as ever. "It's so surreal. I just wanted to attend the school of my dreams, but then we got dragged into this mess."

"It definitely sucks," I sighed, nodding along with her. "And I can't say for sure that we'll all end up okay out of this, but worrying won't do us any good."

"Oh, I'm not worried," She quickly clarified. "I'm just thinking. Truthfully, I don't think anyone will kill anyone just to get out of here. We might all be strangers, but killing someone is something you can never make up for, and I just don't see it happening here."

"I really hope you're right." I nodded. "I for one promise not to succumb to Monokuma's sick game."

Scarlet smiled, looking more happy and relaxed than when I had first met her. Then she let out a small giggle. "So you aren't talking to me just to lure me into my death?"

"No way," I chuckled. "Trust me, if I _had_ to choose someone here, it wouldn't be you."

"Why is that?" She asked in a curious tone, her smile dropping slightly.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I just have a good feeling about you."

Presumably in response to _my_ response, Scarlet then awkwardly glanced at the ground, and then quickly stood up. She looked rather flustered. "I'm going to bed now. Good night." She said, and then hurriedly walked out of the gym.

Jeez, guess I'm not the charmer I used to be. Then again, we are stuck on a ship where the only escape is to kill someone else, so maybe Ms. Modern Dancer's just being a little cautious.

I turned my head to see what Azure was doing now, but I could only see Sage drawing...Azure was nowhere to be found.

What the hell, did Azure leave without saying goodbye?! I mean, I know I _was_ talking to Scarlet, but Azure is more than welcome to interrupt me to say a quick good night...

I sadly sighed, and started my journey out of the announcement room. I said good night to Sage, to which he simply waved at me.

* * *

The lights in the dining room were surprisingly off. It was a little creepy, but it wasn't that long of a walk from the announcement room door to the door leading to the bedrooms.

Almost as soon as I started walking, however, I tripped.

"Shit!" I yelled as I fell to the floor. It didn't hurt that much, but it honestly scared the hell out of me. The fuck did I trip over?

I hastily stood up, using the wall as a guide. Once I was on my feet, I sighed in relief.

Then, I died.

...

...

...

Well, almost. As soon as I stood up, I felt someone grab me from behind and I almost died from fright. Was this the end? Was someone really going to kill me in order to escape this ship? Would anyone remember me after I was gone? Would my tombstone say Seizo Morine or Crimson?

"AHHHH!" I screamed, quickly wriggling away from my assaulter's grasp. I turned around, ready to fight for my life.

Then, the lights turned on.

And the person before me was not a killer, but rather my closest friend here.

"Azure, what the hell," I groaned, clutching my chest.

The cryptid enthusiast had the biggest, dumbest smile on his face. You would've thought he'd just won the lottery or something.

"Boo! Hahahaha, did I scare ya?" He laughed, also clutching his chest, for different reasons...

"Yes, yes, you did..." I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. "In fact, you almost scared me to death!"

"Aw, come on, that was funny." Azure grinned. "You should have seen the look on your face."

Seeing his stupid smile and how funny he thought it was made it hard to stay mad at Azure. I shook my head and smirked.

"You have no idea what kind of game you just started, Mr. Cryptid Enthusiast." I said in a joking tone.

"Oh, really?" Azure chuckled. "Mr. Actor knows how to joke around?"

I nodded with a laugh. "You best believe it. Tomorrow, don't be surprised if _you're_ the one who almost gets a heart attack."

"Looking forward to it." Azure replied.

I didn't take Azure for the practical joke type, but I guess he is! _I_ can certainly take a joke, and I hope he can, because pranks are my specialty. I once managed to convince my friend that I was actually a German spy sent to Japan to investigate the prime minister. Things didn't turn out so well for me when he reported me to the police, though...

* * *

Azure and I made our way back to the hallway with our bedrooms.

"Huh, I wonder which one's mine." I remarked. I pulled out my key chain and took a look.

As opposed to Azure's Sun, my key bore a design of the planet Mercury.

"Hmm, I wonder..." I muttered, putting my key in my pocket and taking out my e-Handbook.

"What's up?" Azure questioned.

"Just want to test something." I replied, clicking on the 'map' app on the home screen.

Sure enough, the app brought me to a blueprint style layout of all the rooms in the hallway, including which room belonged to who. I observed the layout and made a mental note of the order of the rooms, starting from the door and going towards the door to the next hallway.

**Left Side**** (Boys)**

Cotton's Room - The Moon

Onyx's Room - An asteroid

Sage's Room - Earth

Silver's Room - A rocket

Cloud's Room - Pluto

Azure's Room - The Sun

Sunrise's Room - Venus

My room - Mercury

Frost's Room - Halley's Comet

Mauve's Room - A black hole

**Right Side**** (Girls)**

Diamond's Room - Stars

Rose's Room - Mars

Royal's Room - Neptune

Lava's Room - A supernova

Merigold's Room - A meteor

Scarlet's Room - The Milkyway

Indigo's Room - Jupiter

Emerald's Room - Uranus

Noir's Room - Saturn

Cherry's Room - Aurora Borealis

"They did a great job on this artwork." Azure commented as he looked from door to door.

It was true. It was clear what each door was meant to represent, and the details on each piece of artwork were vivid and impressive.

"Wonder why they went all out for us..." I remarked.

"Maybe they just wanted to keep us comfortable?" Azure suggested. Hmm, I'm not so sure...

The exhaustion brought on by the confusion of today had begun to sink in. My eyes felt heavy and my mind felt all over the place. I still hadn't fully processed the fact that I could be spending the rest of my life in here. Ughhh, I just need some...

"Sleep." Azure said. "We should probably get some."

I eagerly nodded. "Yes, I definitely agree."

"Sweet dreams," Azure smiled, waving to me as he walked to his room.

"Likewise." I yawned. Azure went into his room, leaving me by myself in the hallway.

I let out a heavy sigh as I walked to my door. One part of me desperately wanted to go to sleep, but another part dreaded having to sleep _here_. All I wanted was to bury my head in my own sheets, hug my stuffed squirrel, and sleep.

But upon unlocking my room and walking in, I quickly realized that my dreams were not going to be so sweet tonight.

The room was identical to Azure's, except the color scheme was a gloomy grey color that made this situation even more depressing.

I trudged into the room after closing my door and began looking around.

Inside the top drawer dresser were...copies of my clothes?

"What the fuck..." I muttered. There were_ at least _3 pairs of the exact outfit I was wearing now. I guess I at least don't have to wear these bloody clothes anymore...

The second drawer held a white shirt and white pajama pants. Nice, they're even providing us with pajamas! Maybe Silver was right; maybe this isn't so bad! Then I glanced down at the blood on my clothes and remembered that this situation is fucking batshit crazy.

The last drawer held nothing, which also happened to describe the feeling in my heart right now.

I walked over to the desk and set my e-Handbook and keys on the top. There were only two drawers.

The first drawer held...huh? A box? I raised a brow and pulled it out. Upon opening it, however, I wished I hadn't...

It was a syringe filled with some purple liquid. The words 'TOXIC' were written on the sides.

"Poison?" I scoffed. It was probably one of Monokuma's tactics to get us to kill each other. I rolled my eyes and put the syringe back in the drawer.

The bottom drawer held nothing.

Everything else left to explore in the room was uninteresting. The bed was just a bed, and the bathroom was just a bathroom. At last, it was finally time for sweet, sweet, sleep...

I took off my clothes and hastily put on the pajamas provided by Monokuma...They were surprisingly pretty soft.

I went into the bathroom and scrubbed my hands of Cotton's blood. Looking at myself in the mirror, I realized how stressed this situation has already made me.

Dark purple bags hung from my eyes, and my skin was pale and slightly clammy.

I also realized how hungry I was. My stomach growled and my mouth was dry, but I couldn't exactly do anything about it: the kitchen was closed, after all...

I left the bathroom and immediately dove into my bed. It was pretty comfy, but it felt like a hotel. Comfy, but unfamiliar and a little unsettling.

I stared at the ceiling for a good few minutes, thinking about what I would dream about tonight. Would it be a pleasant dream filled with my friends and family, or a nightmare about death and despair?

My eyes slowly started to close, and before I knew it, I drifted off into sleep...

* * *

"Innnnttroooduuuciiiinggg, the _one_, the _only_: Prince Kirishima...AKA Mr. Seizo Morine!" The announcer excitedly gestured to the audience, where he pointed out Seizo.

Applause filled the room, and Seizo shyly stood up. He made his way up the stage and took the microphone from the announcer.

"Thank you, thank you, everyone!" He smiled, waving to the audience. The applause died down and he started his speech.

"It's been an honor playing Prince Kirishima for _seven _seasons! You guys have loved to hate me throughout the entire show, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Seizo laughed. "In fact, you guys have loved Prince Kirishima so much that I'm thrilled to make an announcement!"

The audience eagerly leaned in to listen to Seizo.

"The creators who brought you Sun Witch Esper Ito are now coming out with a spin off featuring Prince Kirishima as the main character!" Seizo announced. Everyone instantly began cheering and clapping, and Seizo took a bow.

"Of course we wouldn't have been unable to do it without you guys, the fans." He reassured. "Your love fuels my days and nights and your joy inspires me to work harder."

Suddenly, without warning, the lights turned off.

"H-huh?" Seizo quickly looked around for a light switch, but couldn't find one.

Luckily, he didn't have to wait very long. The lights switched on, revealing a sight different from before.

The 19 people he was now trapped with filled the chairs in the audience, and they had the most disturbing smiles on their faces. Seizo noticed that some of them even held weapons in their hands.

They stood up from their chairs and slowly creeped over to the stage.

"H-hey!" Seizo nervously yelled. "W-what are you guys doing?"

"What's wrong, Seizo?" ? sinisterly grinned. "We just want to get out of here."

"I'm so tired, Seizo, just let me kill you so I can sleep in my own bed!" ? begged, swinging a piece of glass around.

They were now on the steps of the stage, ready to attack.

Seizo tried to get away, but the ankle bracelet around his leg weighed him down, rendering him immobile.

"Shows over, Mr. Morine," ? laughed, switching the safety off of their gun.

"Sorry, but _you _won't be coming back for another season." ? chuckled, stabbing the air with their knife.

"The reviews are in, and you did terribly." ? sighed. "You're fired!"

The people were now on the stage with him, inches away. Seizo could do nothing but scream, however.

The face in front of him was the one he dreaded to see the most. His closest friend, his most faithful ally: ?.

"Bye, bye, _**Crimson**_." They smirked, thrusting a knife into his stomach.

* * *

I woke up with a start, sweat dripping on my forehead and my heart beating a mile a minute.

What the hell was that?! Some sick dream of my 'classmates' trying to kill me? But...something wasn't right. I could tell they were the people I met here, but something was different about them. Something...familiar?

My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar tune.

"Ahem, this is aHFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 7 AM, which means that nighttime is officially over! Time to get up out of bed. Let's all welcome this new day with an open heart and mind! "

Huh, guess I slept through the night...

I was disappointed in seeing that I was still in this place. I thought _maybe _there was a chance that this was all a cruel lucid dream, but alas, it's all too real...

I shakily got out of bed, still a little unnerved by my strange dream. I made my way over to the bathroom, and I used the toiletries provided by Monokuma to get ready for the day.

Once I was finished in the bathroom, I changed into the clean clothes from the dresser and made my way into the hallway.

* * *

The only person in the hallway was Silver, who was observing the Earth themed artwork on Sage's door.

"Pretty cool, right?" I asked as I approached him. He turned to me and smiled.

"Ah, good morning, 'Mister Crimson'." Silver greeted. "Yes, it is quite interesting how the artwork on our door is done. I wonder who did them."

"Probably our kidnapper," I shrugged. "Who else could it be?"

Silver shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe our kidnapper bought if from somewhere? Anyways, it is not the art itself I'm interested in, but rather the theme of space, which all the doors seem to share."

I chuckled. "We were pretty stupid not to realize we were in space earlier."

Silver smiled. "Ah, I don't think so. After all, who would theorize we were kidnapped and taken to space?" He then turned back towards the door. "I'm curious as to why we're in space of all places. Was there a problem with kidnapping us and taking us somewhere on Earth?"

"If we really are in space," I started. "Then it'd definitely be the perfect crime for our kidnapper. What police force or government would think to look in space for a group of kidnapped teenagers? And if they even did think to, then there's no telling where we are: space is infinite."

"Very true," Silver nodded, putting a hand to his chin. "Well, whatever the reason may be, it is quite the experience."

"Uh, 'quite the experience'?" I repeated, not seeing how Silver could see this situation in a positive light.

"Yes," Silver answered. "It is! We're in space! What other teenager gets to say that?"

"A teenager who wasn't kidnapped against their will..." I sarcastically answered, crossing my arms. Why's this guy so chill with the idea of staying here?

"Ah, of course, I do not love the fact that we're kidnapped. I especially missed my family last night, thinking about how we all say good night to each other before any of us go to bed," Silver clarified. "However, I choose to see the bright side of our situation. Negativity wouldn't do us any good, yes?"

"I...guess so..." I answered, uncrossing my arms and nodding. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Thank you for understanding." Silver said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to grab a bite to eat in the dining hall."

And with that, the Ultimate TV Host left.

So Silver isn't totally obsessed with staying in this place until the end of time; he just would rather be positive until we can find an escape. I can't say that I can _completely_ see exactly where he's coming from, but I definitely could kinda understand him.

Seeing that there was no one else to talk to, I made my way to the dining room.

Almost everyone was present in the dining room, sitting and chatting amongst each other. The only ones who had yet to arrive were Lava, Cloud, and Onyx.

"Good morning, Crimson." Frost said, standing up from his table and walking over to me. He carried a tray of drinks in his hand. "Would you like some coffee to wake you up?"

"Oh, uh, sure. Thanks." I replied, taking a drink from the tray. Sure enough, it was coffee.

Frost nodded and went to go sit back down with Cherry and Rose.

I looked around for a seat. Azure was sitting with Merigold, and since I found both of them to be pretty pleasant, I decided to have a seat with them.

"Morning, Crim!" Azure smiled. "Sleep well?"

"Buenos dias!" Merigold giggled.

"Good morning to both of you." I nodded. "Uh, I slept decently. It was definitely weird being in this place, though..."

"Same here." Merigold sighed. "I just kept thinking about my family..."

"Well, I'm sure you'll see them soon," Azure reassured. "We'll find a way out. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but someday we'll get out of this place."

"Hopefully it's sooner rather than later." I remarked, taking a sip of coffee.

My eyes widened as the brown liquid slid down my throat. Damn, this is good!

"It's no wonder he's the Ultimate Barista." Merigold smiled, referencing Frost. No kidding, I feel like I'm getting to drink the coffee of The Gods!

As I was enjoying my coffee, Lava and Onyx wandered in, followed by Cloud. Lava and Onyx didn't concern me, they seemed just the same as yesterday, but Cloud...

"What the hell is this?!" Cloud yelled as he walked in. He looked not at all anxious or scared. It was like he went to bed and woke up a new person.

"Uh, you OK, buddy?" Onyx asked concernedly. "I know this situation is pretty crazy, but you didn't forget what happened yesterday, right?"

"Ugh, did he seriously not tell you?" Cloud said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

"Who tell us what?" Diamond asked, raising a brow.

"That pansy, '**_Cloud_**'." Cloud answered, carelessly sitting on top of a table. "What a stupid ass nickname, by the way. Anyways, I tell him over and over again that he needs to tell people right away, but the little shit never listens to me! He just cries and says he's scared of what other people think. Who gives a shit what other people think?"

At this point, all eyes were on Cloud. He was looking at us as if he didn't just refer to himself in the third person.

"The hell is up with all of you?" Cloud asked, looking rather annoyed "Never seen anyone with a split personality before?"

Thankfully, I didn't have any coffee in my mouth, because my jaw dropped so low that I almost had to pick it up from the floor.

Yeah, I have a feeling that I'll never not be surprised while on this ship...

* * *

_A/N_: **Yes, a new chapter before the end of the month! School is officially out for Winter break, so I'm ready to do some pre-writing :) **

**Please make sure to let me know what you think of the chapter! There are some elements introduced here that will play a part later in the story. Did you guys have any favorite moments, or a favorite line?**

**Also, I have finally chosen who will die in Chapter 1! It's definitely a hard decision to make, but a necessary one given the fact that this is Danganronpa. I love all of your guys' characters, so as much as it hurts you guys to see the characters die, it hurts me even more having to write it :'(**

**See you guys in the next one!**


	7. Christmas Love Story in the Cosmos (SC1)

A Christmas Love Story in the Cosmos

* * *

A/N: **Hey guys, welcome back to another chapter. This is a very special chapter, that is centered on Christmas. This is completely non-canon, and serves as a 'what if' type scenario. Don't worry, you'll understand what I mean as you read!**

**The characters are a little bit OOC in this, but not so much so that you wouldn't recognize them. I wanted to be able to play around with different 'ships', and because we're so early in the story that the characters haven't had much development with themselves or each other, I had to play around a little bit with their personalities. **

**Thank you guys for reading, I hope you enjoy the first 'special' chapter of the series! You can expect a new, main story chapter, in January. I'll see you guys in the new year ;)**

* * *

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 AM, and as such, nighttime is officially over. Also, _**Merry Christmas**_, everyone! I hope your day is even better than yesterday!" Usami's usually cheery voice immediately woke me up and filled me with the energy to get this day started.

It's been a little over a month since Usami's rescued us from Monokuma's 'killing game'. She managed to destroy him once and for all, and even managed to destroy the machine that housed his 'spare copies'.

Unfortunately, she was unable to remove our ankle bracelets or return us home to Earth, so we're still bound by _two _of Monokuma's rules (using code names and living indefinitely on the ship), but it's still been nice not having him around.

She created additional rules to help unite us (we have morning meetings almost every day, we can't physically assault each other, etc. There _was _a rule about no cursing, but Sunrise quickly protested), and even though I desperately miss my _real _family back home on Earth, the 20 of us held captive on the HFH Enterprise have become a little family of our own.

I got out of bed and quickly got ready. Then, I looked around in the bottom drawer of my dresser for a special something...

There it is! My present to a certain someone.

Allow me to explain: Usami had suggested we do Secret Santa as a way to 'build relationships' with each other. At first, I thought it was a stupid idea, but it turned out to actually be pretty fun. We drew names on the first day of the month, and have been working on our gifts ever since.

Since there isn't a lot of things on the ship that we could give to each other (considering we've already seen literally everything this ship has to offer), I went into the kitchen and made a batch of cookies. It's not a lot, but I'm pretty sure the person who I got will appreciate it.

I used some papers of an old book I found in the rec center to wrap the plate holding the cookies and headed out into the hallway.

* * *

The hallway was decorated with very...interesting decorations. Due to the season, we had tried and made it look a little Christmas-y, but because of the lack of any supplies on the ship, it kind of ended up looking more like a sad pre-school classroom.

Book papers cut into snowflakes were hung on the walls, red and green sheets from Rose and Sage's room lined the floors, and 'fake snow' made from shampoo mixed with water littered the ground.

It was kinda sad, but hey, we did the best with what we have.

"Crimson, good morning." Frost smiled as he saw me walk out of my room.

"Good morning to you too, Frost." I smiled back. I noticed the present he was carrying in his hand. It was a red box, decorated with a black bow that I'm pretty sure came from one of the board games in the rec center. "Ooo, nice. I'm sure they'll love it."

Frost suddenly turned a bright red and glanced at the ground. "Oh, uh, yes. I sure hope so."

Hmm, if I remember correctly I think Frost was in charge of giving out the names to everyone. I wonder if he gave himself someone on purpose? I _did _hear from Diamond that Frost had to use the laundry room for whatever his gift was.

"I'll see you at the gift exchange ceremony." Frost quickly said, hurrying into the hallway leading to the dining room.

I chuckled and started to follow him to get some breakfast, but I stopped when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Crimson," Scarlet said. "Can you give me some advice?"

"What about?" I asked.

"My Secret Santa is a little on the active side, but I baked them a batch of cinnamon rolls. Do you think they'd mind?" She asked, twiddling her thumbs.

"Hmmm, I think it depends." I said. Besides Scarlet herself, I couldn't really think of anyone here with an active talent, so I didn't know who Scarlet was talking about.

"It's Noir," Scarlet explained. "I know she likes to stay fit in order to, um, do her 'spy stuff', but I _think _she'd be the type to like sweets?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely!" I answered. "If there's anyone here who'd appreciate sweets, it'd be Noir."

"Really?" Scarlet beamed. "Yay, I got it right!" She looked rather excited at guessing Indigo's interests correctly.

"I'm a little sad you didn't get me!" I joked.

"Why is that?" She questioned with a smile.

"I dunno, I just think you have good taste. Plus, I definitely wouldn't mind eating a tray of cinnamon rolls." I chuckled.

She laughed. "Maybe Noir will share some with you...or maybe, I'll make some for you someday."

"Looking forward to it." I answered. She went back to her room to finish getting ready, and I made my way into the next hallway.

* * *

In the hallway, I immediately ran into Lava, who looked every so slightly flustered (an emotion I don't think I've ever seen from her).

"Everything OK, Lava?" I questioned.

"Oh, um, hello Crimson..." She said, still retaining her rather monotone voice. "I'm just a little...nervous."

"Nervous?" I chuckled. "Why would you be nervous? Afraid that the person isn't going to like your gift?"

Lava shook her head. "No...it's just that even though I've become a little more comfortable around you all, I am still a little awkward." She admitted. "Especially with the person I got...I haven't had the chance to talk to them before..."

"If you don't mind me asking, who did you get?" I inquired. I'm pretty sure it wasn't me, considering she had talked to me before.

Lava paused for a moment before nodding. "...Indigo."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Lava, trust me, Indigo is the last person here you have to worry about. I'm sure you guys will get along fine, and she'll love whatever you got her."

Lava nodded. "You're probably right." Then she turned towards the computer lab. "I will see you later...I still need to finish my present."

"See you Lava, and good luck." I replied. She nodded once more and entered the computer lab.

Just then, Sunrise came out of the laundry room.

"Yo, Sunrise." I called.

He turned towards me, and although he didn't smile, he acknowledged me with a brief nod. He had become a slightly better person since I first met him. He wasn't as much of a dick anymore, but he still had occasional 'asshole like' comments that no one appreciated (except for Royal, who often cheers him on).

"This whole Secret Santa shit is stressing me the fuck out." Sunrise complained, crossing his arms and sighing.

"What do you mean, don't you already have your present?" I questioned, raising a brow.

Sunrise scoffed. "Hell no, man. There's nothing on this ship to give that we haven't already seen before!"

"That's what I thought," I said. "Until I started looking around more. You could make something out of something, bake something, or-"

"That's it!" Sunrise suddenly yelled, putting a fist in his hand.

"Uh, what's it?" I questioned.

"What gift could be more perfect than me!" Sunrise smirked, looking rather proud of himself.

"...Uh, what?" I asked, a little dumbfounded.

"I will gift my Secret Santa one of my jackets. That way they'll always have a part of the best Ultimate Pilot the world has ever seen!" Sunrise grinned.

...

...

...

"Sure, Sunrise, that sounds like a great idea." I sighed.

"Of course it is; it came from me." He chuckled. "Well catch ya later, try not to wallow in self-pity."

"Self-pity over what?" I asked.

"Your lame-ass gift!" He cackled, walking away.

...I didn't even tell him what my gift was.

I continued on my way to the dining room, but was once again interrupted.

"W-wow!" Cotton exclaimed. He was carrying a big box of something and was clearly struggling given his small frame.

I quickly ran over to him and helped him set the box down (while balancing my plate of cookies with one hand).

"You OK, buddy?" I chuckled, watching as he clutched his chest in exaughstion.

"...Phew, I think I underestimated how heavy that box was!" Cotton laughed.

"What's in it?" I inquired.

Cotton smirked. "It's a replica of a photoshoot studio!"

...

...

...

"Um, can I ask why?" I nervously laughed. Where the hell did he get the supplies to build something like that?

"Well, you see, I got Diamond as my Secret Santa." Cotton explained. "And I wanted to make her something that'd remind her of home y'know? So I thought to myself: what better way to do so then to recreate Diamond's passion?"

I nodded, impressed. "I see. Of course Diamond would love something like that. But, how did you manage to build such a thing?"

"The rec center!" Cotton answered. "The board games have a whole bunch of stuff that I used. One of the games even had a camera, so Diamond can fulfill the role of the photographer _and _the photoshoot choreographer."

I see...A lot of people probably used the board games to help make their gift, which meant that there probably wasn't any board games left to actually play...

"Well, Crimson, it was nice talking to you, but I gotta get this present to the announcement room for the gift exchange!" Cotton smiled.

"Need any help with that?" I asked, watching as he struggled to find a grip to pick the box up.

"No, no, I got it!" Cotton reassured. True enough, he started pushing the box with no problem, and was through the door.

"Phew," I muttered, heading towards the dining hall. "I can finally eat-"

Just as I thought I was in the clear to grab some breakfast, someone hit me with the door as they left.

"Ouch," I groaned, rubbing my head.

"I'm so sorry!" Cherry quickly apologized, putting her hand on her heart. "Are you OK?"

"Y-yeah..." I nodded, still in a bit of pain but overall I felt fine. I wasn't dead, so that's good. Don't want Cherry to be accused of killing me to escape!

"Good," Cherry sighed in relief. "Sorry, I'm just in a little bit of a rush finishing my Secret Santa gift!"

"Ah, you waited until the last minute?" I chuckled.

"Oh, no," Cherry clarified. "My gift _couldn't _be made until this morning." She explained.

"How so?" I asked.

Cherry giggled. "You see, my gift is for Frost. Since he's the Ultimate Barista, I wanted to impress him by baking him a biscotti to go along with his morning cup of coffee!"

"Ah, I see," I nodded. "I'm sure he'll love it."

"I hope so. I'm not the best baker in the world, but I picked up a thing or two from critiquing food." Cherry smiled. "Frost is a good guy, don't you think?"

I nodded. Frost was a little standoff-ish at first, but he's grown to be a pretty friendly guy. In fact, he's particularly friendly towards Cherry...Now that I think about it, Frost's present for his Secret Santa was a bright shade of red...a **cherry **red, if you will...

"Well, I'm going to tidy myself up for the gift exchange, and I'll see you there." Cherry said, brushing flour off her skirt.

I bid adeiu to her. Just as I was about to enter the dining hall, yet another one of my lovely classmates called my name.

"Mr. Crimson!" Silver called.

I slowly turned around. My stomach was growling, but I guess I could wait _a little _longer...

"My good man, I am in a little bit of trouble." He sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know what book to select for my Secret Santa."

"What's the problem, exactly?" I asked. "Don't know what genre your Secret Santa likes?"

"No, it is not the genre, but the language of the book that I want to get." He explained. "You see, my person is Ms. Merigold."

"Ah, I see your dilemma. Don't know what languages she knows, right?" I asked.

"Yes." He nodded. "I didn't want to get her a book in basic Japanese, considering we speak that every day. I thought she might enjoy a book in one of the languages she knows."

"Half the time I don't know what languages she speaking whenever she does 'her thing'," I chuckled.

"Ah, maybe I'll do something a little different." Silver suddenly thought aloud.

"Like what?" I inquired.

"Well, there are a couple of books about _learning _languages in the rec center." He explained. "I think I'll get her one of those!"

"Gonna have to roll the dice though for choosing which languages," I said. "You don't want to get her a book on a language she already knows!"

"Very true," He nodded. "Well, I must be off! Don't want to be late for the gift exchange!"

He quickly turned around and presumably headed into the direction of the rec center.

* * *

At last, I was able to enter the dining room without any interruptions.

The dining room was full of people eating breakfast and working on their presents

I immediately started towards the kitchen to put the cookies in the fridge and grab a bite to eat, but I was called by Onyx, who looked like he was struggling with a piece of art.

"Ah, Crimson," Onyx said, scratching his head. "You're an actor, which is like an artist, right? So, do you think you could help me with this piece of art?"

...

...

...

"Um, sorry, but acting and drawing aren't really the same." I nervously laughed. "Why don't you ask Sage for help?"

"Unfortunately, I was doomed to get Sage for my Secret Santa." Onyx sighed. "I thought that drawing him a portrait would please him, but it isn't going so well..."

I looked at Onyx's drawing of Sage...and there was no Sage to be found. Instead, the drawing looked like Monokuma after he was exploded by Usami.

"Um...keep at it, man, I'm sure you'll get there," I said. I didn't believe my words, but I didn't want to discourage Onyx when the gift exchange was moments away. Plus, I didn't see how Onyx could think of a better idea in so short of a time.

"I'll definitely try." Onyx sighed, continuing his painting 'of Sage'. "Hm, maybe I can convince him it's 'abstract'..."

I walked away from Onyx's crime scene and attempted to enter the kitchen. Before I could, however, I was pulled aside by Diamond...Maybe I will die here, of starvation.

"Crimson," She pleaded. "Please assist me in calming Cloud down."

"What's wrong with Cloud?" I questioned as she led me to the table where he was sat.

"He is nervous about how his Secret Santa will react to his gift." She explained, sighing.

"I-it's just, I don't know w-what they'll like." He sniffed, wiping a tear.

"Just give them something that comes from the heart, and I'm sure they'll love it." I suggested.

"That's the same advice I gave him," Diamond sighed. "_And_ he refuses to tell me who his person is, so I am unable to help him."

"Isn't it S-Secret Santa for a reason?" Cloud meekly asked.

I sighed, feeling for him. It wasn't easy being a shy person in general, but being a shy person in this type of situation? It must be Hell for him.

Diamond crossed her arms. "Well, Cloud, we can't help you if you don't tell us anything."

Cloud sniffed once more, before looking at the ground with the most sorrowful, puppy dog expression I've ever seen.

"It's Mauve..." He revealed.

"Oh, that guy," I said. "Don't worry about it. He won't care what you get him."

"R-really?" Cloud asked, nervously covering his face with the sleeves of his hoodie.

"Yes, Mauve does not seem like the type to judge a gift with heavy judgment." Diamond nodded.

Cloud pulled his hands away from his face and let out a small smile. "T-thank you...I feel a little better now."

Diamond also smiled, though it was soft and looked like it mostly derived from relief. "Now that Cloud's dilemma is solved, I must be on my way."

"What's the rush?" I asked.

"My gift for my Secret Santa is rather simple, so I'm decorating the box I'm giving it in." Diamond explained. "I am almost finished, but they're just a few finishing touches."

I nodded. "Sounds good."

Diamond left to her room, and Cloud went back to awkwardly staring at the ceiling.

* * *

I made my way to the kitchen, and thankfully, was finally allowed to enter without any interruptions.

Inside, I ran into Mauve and Rose.

"Crimson, please help me convince Rose to not give his Secret Santa a 'signed deck of cards' as a gift!" Rose pleaded, quickly running over to me.

"This particular person might appreciate it," Mauve responded. "I'm not being lazy, I'm just being considerate." He claimed.

"Anyone can get a deck of cards from the rec center." Rose sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, but I put my name on it, so they know it's special." Mauve argued.

"Maybe if you tell me who the gift is for, I'll have a better judgement." I said.

"Cloud." Mauve answered.

"Ah, I see." I nodded. "Cloud would like something like that."

"What?!" Rose gasped. "You too, Crimson?"

"Cloud is a simple guy," Mauve explained. "He wouldn't mind something simple."

"Well, yes, but I guarantee you he'd _like _something else." Rose protested.

Mauve chuckled. "Ah, Rose..."

"_What_?" Rose frowned.

"I was joking about getting him a deck of cards." Mauve revealed.

...

...

...

"Seriously? After I brought Crimson into this?" Rose groaned, turning towards me. "I apologize Crimson, I didn't take Mauve for the joking type..."

"Me neither." I said truthfully, chuckling along with Mauve. "I'm surprised he has it in him!"

Mauve smirked. "It's funny to get Rose mad. Because she's the Ultimate Prodigy, she thinks she's always right, but when she's proven wrong or deceived, it really is a fascinating sight to behold."

"H-hey, that's not true," Rose claimed, her face turning slightly red. "I was just acting in the best interest of Cloud!"

"I've never seen her so defensive or flustered, Mauve." I joked. "She must think differently of you than everyone else here." I was half-joking and half-serious. Rose normally wasn't the defensive type, in fact, she was a little on the shyer side sometimes. Around Mauve, however, I guess she opened up a little more.

"Haha, very true, Crimson," Mauve laughed. "I guess I have that effect on some people."

"What effect?" Rose raised a brow.

I left the quarreling duo as I went to the fridge. I put my cookies in the fridge to preserve them and grabbed a banana to eat for breakfast. As I ate my banana, still standing in the fridge, I noticed movement in the back of the fridge.

"Uh, hello?" I called, a little worried. Did a rat manage to break in from Earth and infiltrate our food supply?

"Ah!" Someone screamed, which almost made me scream! A second later, however, I understood the reason for the movement that I saw, as Royal stood up, holding a bag of something.

"Ugh, you scared the hell out of me!" Royal chastised. "If it weren't for your celebrity status, I'd totally knock you over right now!"

"Now, now, Royal, I wasn't the one hiding in the back of the fridge." I retorted.

"I wasn't hiding," Royal claimed. "I was getting something! These," She then opened the bag, revealing...makeup?

More specifically, they look exactly like the toiletries we were provided with at the start of our captivity.

"Why did you put makeup in the fridge?" I questioned.

"Must we play 21 questions...?" Royal sighed. "Makeup goes on easier when its cold, duh!"

...

...

...

"Um, where did you happen to get this information?" I asked, genuinely concerned for Royal's IQ level.

"Experience, hon," Royal replied, gesturing to her face. "All the tips I've acquired in the biz have led me to my ingenious discovery!"

"OK, sure..." I said, still a little unsure. "Anyways, why are you getting makeup from the fridge right now? You're face already looks done to me."

"It's not for me," Royal replied, rolling her eyes. "It's for that stupid Secret Santa thing."

"You're really giving your person the same toiletries we all have?" I sighed, disappointed but not surprised.

"No, dummy!" Royal groaned. "I'm giving them the greatest gift of all: a makeover! Trust me, this person desperately needs one."

"OK, Royal, it was nice talking to you, goodbye." I quickly said, grabbing my tray of cookies and leaving the fridge. Oh, Royal, we give you so many chances but the things that come out of your mouth just keep on coming...

* * *

There was no clock in this place, but I could tell that it was time to head to the announcement room for the gift exchange.

On my way there, I spotted Emerald and Merigold in the dining hall, still working on their gifts.

"Haha, I didn't think you ladies would still be working on your gifts by now," I chuckled.

"This is harder than I thought," Emerald admitted. She looked like she was knitting something. "Cotton told me that my person might like a knitted sweater, but the problem is: I don't know how to knit!"

"Oh mein Gott, this book is way too hard to wrap!" Merigold exclaimed. It looked like a normal book, but it was rather thick and heavy, so I guess Merigold found it a little awkward to wrap it.

"Well, I can help you Merigold, but sorry Emerald, I know next to nothing about knitting." I chuckled. I set down my cookies and wrapped the book with ease.

"_Wao_, Crimson, that was quick!" Merigold observed.

"Maybe you're the Ultimate Gift Wrapper?" Emerald giggled, still struggling to knit her sweater.

"Aw, it's no big," I chuckled.

"Is there any way you could help Emerald with her dilemma?" Merigold asked.

"Ummmmmm...no, sorry." I apologized. "Knitting was not one of the things my parents taught me."

"No worries," Emerald smiled. "I don't think my person is the type to care about an object so much as a gesture of kindness."

"So you didn't get Royal or Sunrise!" I joked.

The pair laughed.

"No, my person is probably the opposite of those two." Emerald said. Huh, maybe it's me? Heh, not to toot my own horn, of course.

"Well, amigos, I think it's time to head in." Merigold smiled, standing up.

"Yes, time to face the music!" Emerald joked, also getting up.

The three of us headed into the announcement room where everyone else was waiting.

* * *

I took a seat next to Indigo, Sage, and Noir, the latter of which who looked pretty excited.

"Crimson, Crimson, are you ready?" She asked with a big smile.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," I answered.

"I'm going to love whatever my Secret Santa gets for me, _but _a part of me really hopes they made me sweets." She said, rubbing her stomach in anticipation.

"Well, a lot of people made food-related items for their Secret Santas, so there's a possibility!" I replied.

"You didn't get me for Secret Santa, did you, Crimson?" She asked with a sly smile.

"No, I didn't," I answered. "What makes you think so, though?"

"Hehe, I didn't!" Noir mischievously revealed. "But, now I know!"

"Ah, you sly fox!" I joked.

"I _am _the Ultimate Spy after all!" She giggled.

I turned to Indigo, who looked quite anxious to get the gift exchange going.

"Excited?" I asked.

She turned to me with a soft smile. "Yes, mostly to see my Secret Santa's reaction...My gift is a little small, though."

"Ah, I'm sure they'll love it nonetheless," I reassured. "Today isn't just about gifts. It's a day of friendship, and on this ship, we could all use some."

Indigo nodded, looking a little sad. "Yes, today is one of the more difficult days, huh?"

I also nodded with a sad frown. "Very true. I'm used to be opening presents with my family at this time..."

"In Russia, we have a firework celebration the night of Christmas on January the 7th." Indigo explained. "It is my favorite part of the holiday. Fireworks are fun for everyone involved."

I chuckled. "I'm not surprised the Ultimate Daredevil loves fireworks."

I observed Sage sitting next to Indigo, who looked as quiet as ever. As always, he had his head buried in his journal, where he was still working on that same drawing I've seen him working on since I met him.

I've watched Sage through the weeks, and he is pretty quick with his work. It's always perfect, pristine, and done at a quick pace.

I wonder why this drawing, in particular, was taking him so long...

Suddenly, a voice was heard from the stage and we all turned our heads towards it.

"Hello everyone, and Merry Christmas!" Usami greeted.

"I know you're all eager to get the gift exchange started, but first, I thought we might reflec-"

"Nah, let's just get on with it!" Sunrise called from the crowd.

"_For real_, I'm ready for my gift _now_." Royal agreed.

More and more mutters of wanting their gifts now, or to give their gifts now, filled the room and Usami defeatedly backed down from her idea.

"OK, OK, everyone," She said. "I suppose we can start the gift exchange now,"

Everyone immediately stood up and went to their respective Secret Santa.

I was honestly getting a little nervous. Maybe my person _wouldn't_ like the cookies I made.

I slowly approached them and they looked at me with a smile.

"Crimson! You got me?" Azure asked excitedly.

"Y-yeah..." I nervously replied.

"No kidding, I got you too!" Azure revealed.

"Wow, really?" I asked in astonishment. "That's quite a coincidence."

"Um, maybe not..." Azure chuckled as he looked around.

I looked around at the various pairings, and I guess everyone ran into the same situation as us; being each others Secret Santa.

The pairings were as follows:

**Frost and Cherry** (No surprise there, I kinda figured. Frost gave Cherry a pair of mittens that he found in one of the lockers in the girl's shower room, which he washed and dried to make sure they were nice and clean for Cherry. And of course, Cherry gave Frost a biscotti. The two loved each other's gifts so much that they gave each other a hug.)

**Mauve and Cloud** (Mauve baked Cloud a cupcake, which he absolutely loved. He even almost started crying! Cloud wrote Mauve a poem, about a boy longing for a girl but the girl being too stubborn to admit her love. I wonder if it's an innuendo for a certain bickering pair...)

**Cotton and Diamond** (Cotton, of course, gave Diamond the replica of a photoshoot studio, which she loved. She volunteered Cotton to be her first model. Diamond gave Cotton a Rubik's cube that she found hidden behind the shelf of the board games in the rec center. He was ecstatic, but solved it in three seconds.)

**Lava and Indigo** (Lava gave Indigo a mini cannon that she built from some machinery she found in the equipment room. Indigo loved it so much that she started crying. In return, Indigo gave Lava a book that she found in the rec center about building a robot from an oven. Lava loved it and asked Indigo for help building it.)

**Sunrise and Royal** (The 'mean pair' as people call them, got each other! Sunrise gave Royal his jacket, to which she said she would later light it on fire. In response to Roya's gift of a 'make over', Sunrise scoffed and said he was perfect the way he was. Then, the two got into an argument.)

**Sage and Onyx** (Sage was rather unimpressed with Onyx's gift of a 'portrait'. In fact, Sage commented that the portrait was so bad that he would be open to giving Onyx lessons. Sage's true gift, however, was a portrait of Onyx. Onyx was very pleased to see himself portrayed in such a way, and said he would consider Sage's offer of lessons.)

**Rose and Emerald** (Rose was thrilled with Emerald's attempt to make a knitted sweater for her. She said it didn't matter if it was unfinished, she'd wear it anyway! Rose gave Emerald a book about cats due to Emerald's love of them. Emerald loved the gift, but started to tear up upon remembering her own cat back on Earth.)

**Silver and Merigold** (Silver gave Merigold a book about learning Finnish. Merigold was absolutely thrilled about starting the process of learning a new language. Merigold gave Silver a book about some of the greatest TV Hosts of all time. Silver loved it, but was a little disappointed upon seeing that he was not in the book.)

**Scarlet and Noir** (Noir thoughtfully gave Scarlet a resistance band that she found in an exercise themed board game, so Scarlet could stretch herself out before dancing. Scarlet loved it and asked Noir if she wanted to dance with her. Scarlet baked Noir a batch of cinnamon rolls, which thrilled the Ultimate Spy.)

At last, it was time for Azure and I's gift exchange.

Azure handed me a medium-sized object wrapped in paper decorated with...

Paper from a book in the rec center.

"I know the wrapping isn't very original, but I hope you like the gift." Azure chuckled.

"Trust me, dude, everybody has the same 'wrapping paper'." I laughed.

I unwrapped Azure's gift, and a smile immediately formed on my face.

"How did you find this?" I asked in awe.

Azure mischievously laughed. "It's a _secret_."

The gift was a DVD of a movie featuring one of my favorite actors, Kotoko Utsugi. I had spent hours in the rec center trying to look for one of her movies but to no avail! I wonder how Azure got his hands on a copy...

Azure quickly unwrapped my gift upon my mentioning that it was something edible.

"Cookies..." Azure slowly said.

My smile dropped a little. Did he not like it?!

Azure stayed silent.

"U-um, Azure?" I asked.

...

...

...

"I love it!" He said, embracing me in a hug.

My eyes widened, but I hugged him back. A month of being trapped with all these people has made me extremely close to all of them, But Azure, being the first person I met, and the one to stick by me through pretty much everything, has made me feel especially close to him.

* * *

After the gift exchange, we all ended up in the dining room. The mood was cheery, and everyone was talking to each other about their holiday traditions, family, and the things they missed most about Earth.

In the middle of our discussion, Azure told me he was going to get something and he'd be right back.

"No, Onyx, paint can't be erased with an eraser." Sage sighed, facepalming.

"I bet I could market the hell out of a paint eraser if someone made one!" Onyx smirked.

"That's the dumbest fucking idea I've ever heard." Sunrise insulted, his feet on the table as he tiredly stared at the ceiling.

Just then, Azure arrived sneakily walking over to Frost and Cherry. No one else noticed him as he crept across the dining room but me. I mouthed to him 'what are you doing?', but he simply put a finger up to his lips and kept moving.

When he arrived behind Frost and Cherry, I realized his plan.

"**Mistletoe**!" Noir pointed out, giggling.

Everyone turned to see Azure holding up 'mistletoe' (a piece of spinach with raspberry's glued to it) behind Frost and Cherry, who both looked extremely flustered.

"Oh!" Cherry exclaimed, her cheeks as red as her codename.

"Uh..." Frost looked even more nervous, as he sheepishly averted his eyes and twiddled his thumbs.

"C'mon guys, you know the drill!" Emerald chuckled.

"Yeah, come on!" Merigold cheered on. "_Baiser_!"

"I guess we have to," Cherry nervously laughed, turning towards Frost.

"Oh, uh, yes, I suppose we do..." Frost nodded, his eyes still unable to meet her gaze.

I chuckled at the very amused Azure, who continued to hold the 'mistletoe' up.

We all continued to cheer Frost and Cherry on, and they eventually accepted their fate.

Frost moved his lips slowly towards Cherries. Seriously, it took like 10 seconds for him to finally get an inch away!

Then, without further warning, _Cherry_, rapidly moved her lips towards his, and the two had their (first?) kiss!

"Finally!" Azure grinned. "My arm was getting tired."

"Gross..." Royal muttered.

"That was the cutest thing ever!" Cotton gushed.

It was refreshing seeing everybody happy and excited. Frost and Cherry, in particular, looked very happy. They couldn't wipe their smiles off their faces, and I noticed Frost's hand holding Cherries,

The situation we're in is without a doubt shitty. No family, no Wi-Fi, no way out. But, seeing the smiles on everyone's faces, and hearing their laughs made it a little more bearable.

It wasn't the best Christmas I've ever had, but it definitely wasn't the worst. If we really could never leave, I could get used to this!

Azure sat back down next to me. He wriggled the 'mistletoe' in his hand.

"Hmm...I think I'm going to keep this." He remarked.

"Why?" I questioned with a smile. "Think there's another pair here that'd be good together?"

He looked at me with a sly expression.

"You never know!"

* * *

Monomi watched the situation in the dining room with a very satisfied smile.

"Haha, it worked!"

You see, at the beginning of the month, Monomi had put Frost in charge of drawing names for Secret Santa. However, that was only a ruse!

In reality, Monomi had rigged Secret Santa so that everyone would get the person she intended them to. She did this based on several factors: relationship compatibility, who were already friends, who needed to work on their friendship, etc.

She was thankful no one questioned why their Secret Santa also got them as their Secret Santa! She hated to lie to or manipulate the students, but it was for the greater good!

Frost and Cherry even kissed, which led to an astronomical growth in their relationship with each other.

If Monomi could keep it up, and continue pairing up people, then maybe the students wouldn't be so miserable trapped on the ship.

She looked at her list of potential student relationships and nodded triumphantly.

The next one on the top of her list looked promising, and she was going to do everything in her power to get them together!


	8. The Fool and Her Groom (Part 2)

The Fool and Her Groom (Part 2)

* * *

"...A split personality?" I repeated. "Like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?"

What the hell is going on here?! First, we woke up trapped on a spaceship, forced to kill each other if we want to leave, and now Cloud has a split personality? Maybe this whole thing is one big hallucination caused by smoking too much of 'the good stuff'...

"Sure, you could say that," 'Cloud' nodded, yawning. "And _I'd _clearly be Mr. Hyde. Cloud's way too..._himself_ to be him."

So 'alternate Cloud' is a more confident, brazen, foul-mouthed, and dickish version of Cloud. Looks like Sunrise has some competition!

"So...you're just one of Cloud's alternate personalities?" Rose meekly asked, nervously watching as 'Cloud' lounged on her table.

"Personalit_y_, singular." 'Cloud' corrected.

"What might we call you?" Diamond asked, her arms crossed. "I'm sure you have another name other than Cloud."

"Ah, that's right..." 'Cloud' nodded. "That stupid fucking bear gave us all stupid ass 'codenames', didn't he...Then from what I've seen on that 'e-Handbook thing', I guess my codename's **Shadow**, a shade of black."

"Shadow, sounds fitting," Merigold observed. "I, uh, suppose it's nice to meet you..." She added, sounding a bit unsure of herself.

"_Save it_," Shadow scoffed. "I know I'm a fucking nuisance. You all would rather have pansy-ass Cloud than me, wouldn't you?"

"Nah, I'm chill with you, man." Sunrise grinned. "That Cloud guy was getting annoying with his stuttering."

"Shut up, ginger." Shadow retorted.

Sunrise's face quickly turned a bright shade of red as he angrily frowned. "The fuck you say to me, you little bitch? I'll beat you to a pulp in 5 seconds flat!"

"Ooo, I'd like to see that happen!" Royal cheered.

"Shut up, other ginger." Shadow retorted once again.

"OK, OK, everyone, let's all calm down!" Azure begged, standing up from his chair and walking over to Shadow.

"Oh look, here comes the hero." Shadow rolled his eyes. "Though I wonder how you can save the day when you can only **see out of one eye**..."

"How'd you know?" Azure asked curiously. Wait, what? Azure's blind in one eye? No matter, it didn't affect our friendship in any way.

"It's pretty fucking obvious if you look close enough," Shadow sighed. "One eyes paler than the other..." Huh, I seriously never noticed. I mean, I guess that Azure would look at me a little funny from time to time, but I just thought that was just apart of his quirky personality.

Azure nodded, not at all bothered. "Well, you seem really observant. How about you channel that energy into our brand new **team building exercises**?"

"Team building exercises?" Onyx repeated. "What's that?"

"It's a little something I've been working on with Rose." Azure revealed, gesturing to the Ultimate Prodigy.

Rose blushed. "Oh, um, yes. I thought it'd be a good idea to get closer to one another through various 'team building activities'."

"And I volunteered to help put it together." Azure smiled. "Our first activity should be ready by tomorrow. We'll split into groups and have some fun."

"Ew, no," Royal quickly said. "I want _nothing _to do with that. The only person I can semi-stand here is Crimson, but even then, he's a little too..._unrefined _for my taste."

"Gee, thanks..." I muttered.

"I agree with the wannabe celebrity," Sunrise revealed. "Any minute that I have to spend with you guys is a minute wasted. We should be looking for an escape, not galavanting around like fucking school children..."

"Ugh, besides his _rude_ comment, I agree with 'anger issues'." Royal scoffed.

"I have to agree with dumb and dumber." Shadow said. "We'll all probably die here, but I'd much rather look for an escape than spend time with any of you..."

"Wow, way to be optimistic." Emerald frowned. "I think your idea is great, Rose and Azure! I'll definitely join."

"Count me in too," I nodded. "If we're going to be living here forever, we might as well learn more about each other."

"Sounds like fun!" Cherry beamed. "As long as it doesn't involve waking up _too _early, I'll be there."

"Um, me too." Frost quickly stated. "Sounds like a good idea."

"Sorry, but I want to get out of here," Onyx chuckled. "Guess that means I'm siding with Sunrise."

"No thank you..." Lava said. "But, I also don't want to look for an escape...I think I'll just stay in my room."

"I think I'll aid in the search for an escape." Diamond reluctantly stated. I could tell she wasn't exactly a big fan of her fellow 'team members' on 'Team Escape'. "Perhaps we may also find answers for our captivity in our search."

"I wish to be left alone." Sage revealed. "Please do not bother me with such nonsense of 'team building'_ or _'escaping'."

"...I guess I'll participate in the 'team building activities'." Mauve sighed. "Though don't expect too much out of me."

"That's the spirit!" Azure smiled. "Any other takers?"

"_Tính tôi vào_!" Merigold beamed. "Count me in!"

"Um, m-me too," Indigo blushed. "I hope we can all get along..."

"I'll also join in." Silver nodded. "Sounds like a fun idea."

Scarlet bit her lip and slowly nodded. "...OK. I'm in too."

"Sorry guys, but I think my spy talent would be useful in looking for an escape!" Noir deeply apologized, sadly frowning.

So, everyone had chosen which 'faction' they were on. Day 1 and we were already divided!

Based on everyone's choices, the 'factions' were:

**Team Building Activites**

Azure

Rose

Emerald

Myself

Cherry

Frost

Mauve

Merigold

Indigo

Silver

Scarlet

**Looking For an Escape/Information**

Sunrise

Royal

Shadow

Onyx

Diamond

Noir

**Unaffiliated **

Lava (wants to be by herself in her room)

Sage (wants to be by himself...probably to focus on his drawing)

Cloud (can't vote yet)

Cotton (MIA)

"So, everyone's chosen their side." Azure observed. "Since the team building activities don't start until tomorrow, however, how about you guys hold off your search for an escape?" He suggested.

"Whatever." Sunrise shrugged. "Guess I'm not doing shit today then."

After our crazy eventful morning discussion, we were all ready for breakfast.

It hit me that I hadn't eaten in...God knows how long! We spent hours investigating the ship yesterday, and then went to bed hungry, but I wonder how long we were knocked out for before that...It could've been an hour, two, or maybe even a whole day. Regardless, I was hungry as hell.

It was pretty clear from our previous investigation that there was food provided for us to cook, but the question of who was going to actually do the cooking was a little unclear.

"Trust me, I got this!" Cherry assured. "I may not be the _best_ cook in the world, but my experience as a food critic has led me to pick up a thing or two!"

"Are you certain?" Frost asked, who was the other candidate for the 'cook' position. "I trust you, but I am more than willing to do it."

"I'm sure!" Cherry nodded. "I _want _to do it. Plus, you already did the coffee-making."

"That's fair." Frost nodded with a smile. "How about you do the cooking, and I'll stick to brewing?"

"Deal," Cherry beamed.

"Get a room," Royal said in disgust. "We've known each other for less than 24 hours and you guys are already horning it up?"

"T-that's-" Cherry blushed, unable to finish her sentence.

"_Anyways_," I interrupted. "Cherry, how about you go in the kitchen to start the cooking?"

Cherry quickly nodded and entered the kitchen without a word.

As we waited for our food to be done, I decided to go around and talk to some people I felt that I could build a better connection with.

"Diamond," I said, taking a seat next to the photoshoot choreographer. She was currently sitting at a table by herself, observing her ring. "Don't feel like talking to anyone?"

Diamond shook her head with a slight smile. "You should know that I'm not the most sociable person."

"But doesn't your job require you to interact with a lot of different people?" I inquired. "I know, for me, I've had to talk to all sorts of people because of work, even though most of the time, I don't want to..."

"That is exactly the case," Diamond explained. "I'm used to _professional _relationships, not social ones."

"After my talent for photoshoot choreographing was discovered, my father encouraged me to broaden my horizons, and though I had barely turned 10 years old, I was doing photoshoot choreographing for his magazines." She continued.

"Ah, that explains it," I said. "You didn't really get a lot of chances to hang out with friends or anything because you started working at such a young age?"

"I suppose that is a large part of it," Diamond nodded. "My father wanted me involved in his business from the moment I could talk. I did, however, get the chance to make friends once I started school, but I never did get a lot of chances to hang out with them due to work."

I hesitated for a moment, but then asked the question that had been plaguing my mind since I met Diamond. "If you don't mind me asking, is school where you met your...fiancé?"

Diamond also hesitated for a moment, before shaking her head. "No. I met my fiancé through work." She explained. "He's a model, you see."

I chuckled. "Maybe he knows Royal?"

Diamond thought for a moment before nodding. "Hm, yes, I suppose there is a possibility. The Albert-Reeves' are very well known in the modeling world."

I looked at Diamond with a hint of shock on my face. Albert-Reeves? "Albert-Reeves? That's the last name of your fiancé?"

"Yes, that is correct." Diamond nodded. "My fiancé is Aidan Albert-Reeves."

"That's crazy!" I remarked. "I love the Albert-Reeves' fashion designs. And I've seen some of Aidan's work, he's totally talented. I had no idea he was engaged, though,"

Diamond raised a brow. "Is that right? Our engagement was completely public. Practically all of the news outlets were reporting on it when the news first broke."

I racked my brain, trying my hardest to conjure a memory of an engagement between Aidan and Diamond. But no memory came.

I sighed. "I can't remember..."

Diamond shook her head. "No need to fret, it's quite all right."

Out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly spotted a strange sight. Royal was hovering over Sage, trying to snatch his notebook out of his hands.

"It was nice talking to you, Diamond, but I must excuse myself to deal with...whatever that is." I sighed.

Diamond nodded understandingly. "Of course. Take care."

I left Diamond and made my way over to Sage and Royal.

"C'mon, just a peek!" Royal whined. "I promise I won't tell anyone! Oh, who am I kidding, yes I'm going to tell everyone, but why do you care? You're just some lame-o who took a few art classes when he was younger, why does the drawing _need _to be finished in order for me to see it?!"

Sage frowned, his face red with anger. "Perhaps if you were more likable, I'd let you see it. However, due to your _irksome _behavior, I'd like you to leave me alone this instant!"

"What a dick!" Royal scoffed. "And to think I was going to hire you to illustrate my autobiography!"

"I don't need or want to work for you." Sage remarked coldly. "I have plenty of clients that aren't whiny, spoiled brats that think they're the center of the universe when they're really just bottom of the barrel trash who are here in this world for the sole purpose of wasting oxygen."

Royal turned a bright red, and quickly stormed away back to her table.

"Wow, Sage," I smirked. "That was ice cold."

Sage turned towards with me with his usual, neutral expression. He sighed. "Ugh, would you all just leave me alone? I'm working here," He stated, gesturing towards his notebook.

"I know," I nodded. "I've seen you working on that drawing since yesterday. You don't have to show me, but I'd just really like to know what you've been spending so much time on. Please?"

Sage sighed once again, before closing his notebook and surprisingly giving me his attention. "...Normally, I'd just tell you to leave until you did so, but unlike the others, you seem interesting. Don't expect my full life story, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you a bit about myself." Wow, his drawing requires an explanation about himself? Must be some heavy, edgy artist stuff that I probably won't understand.

"Tell me, Crimson, you seem like a ladies man," Sage started. "What is the best way to impress a girl?"

My eyes widened a little bit. I wasn't expecting to be quizzed. "Um, well, there's a lot of ways, but I guess the best tactic is giving her a gift. It's pretty full-proof: everyone likes gifts."

"True," Sage nodded. "But you also have to take into consideration what gift she'd like. Not everyone likes chocolate and flowers. For example, what would you give...Scarlet? If you wanted to impress her?"

"Um, Scarlet?" I repeated. I turned to look at her. She was currently sitting with Emerald, Indigo, and Noir. She was glancing at the table, not actively participating in the conversation, but still listening. "For someone like her...I think she'd appreciate a poem."

"Perhaps." Sage said. "But what'd you do if she instead saw your poem as...an act of kindness, and not one of love?"

I shrugged. "I guess I'd keep trying. Keep doing things for her until she saw that I was interested.." I answered. "Sage, as much as I enjoy this quiz, why are you asking me this?"

Sage glanced at his notebook. "I am in a situation where I am properly unable to express my feelings towards someone. I've tried many times, but to no avail."

"Why is that?" I asked.

Sage blushed slightly, before quickly shaking his head. "That's none of your business! The point is, I am drawing this particular person a portrait as a gift, that I'm hoping she sees I've done out of love..."

It all made sense now! Sage has been working on this drawing so hard because he wants to make sure his girl realizes how much he cares about her. "So you want to make sure this drawing is perfect, so she'll know how much time you spent on it and that you love her?"

"Precisely," Sage nodded. "Now that you know the reasons for the time spent on this drawing, can you _please _leave me alone?"

"Sure, Sage." I nodded with a smirk. "I appreciate you telling me, man."

Sage said nothing but opened his notebook, picked up his pencil, and continued to draw.

I made my way back to my seat, and after a few minutes, Cherry announced that the breakfast was done.

It was decided that we'd alternate who'd serve the food. There will be** three people **who serve breakfast and dinner one day, and **three **_**different **_**people **who will serve it the next. Cherry and Frost were **exempt** from being servers due to their work as our groups' respective cook and barista.

We wouldn't have any servers or cooks for lunch, we'd have to make the food for ourselves (which I was fine with).

We wrote our names on pieces of paper we found in a drawer in the kitchen and put them into a cup. Then, Cherry chose three names to choose the three servers.

"Today, our servers are..." Cherry began, opening the first name.

"**Lava**!" She announced.

Lava shrugged, looking unbothered. "I don't mind."

"**Emerald**," Cherry continued.

"No problem!" Emerald smiled. "I'm happy to help."

"And** Sunrise**." Cherry finished.

"Fuck me..." Sunrise groaned. "This shit's annoying..."

"We're all going to do our part to help," Scarlet frowned. "I don't see why you have to complain about every minor inconvience."

"Fuck off," Sunrise rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Hey, back off," I quickly intervened. "You don't have to be a douchebag when she's just stating the truth. You've been complaining this entire time."

"Why the hell are you talking for her?" Sunrise sneered. "Are you her puppet master or some shit?"

"No, he's just not a roach like you," Scarlet answered. "Some people here actually want try to be friends with each other instead of pushing other people away with their awful personalities."

Sunrise simply rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Whatever, I could care less about the opinion of a stripper." What a fucking dickhead, modern dancer isn't a codeword for stripper...

"OK, OK, everyone," Cherry said, slightly exasperated. "Can we just serve the food and enjoy our meal?"

"Yes, instead of this pointless bickering." Frost added.

Sunrise wordlessly trudged away to the kitchen.

"Don't worry guys, we'll make sure the asshole doesn't drug our food." Emerald joked, following Sunrise, with Lava right behind her.

Scarlet turned towards me with a slight smile. "Thanks for sticking up for me. I appreciate it."

"No problem." I nodded. "Guys like that need to be put in their place."

While we waited for our food, Azure suggested that we pushed all of our tables together so everyone could sit with each other. Onyx, Silver, Mauve, and I helped to do so. In the end the tables turned into one. It was a little crowded, but it was nice to sit with everyone rather than being separated. That way, we could all address one another.

Shadow and Royal (and most likely Sunrise if he were here), were the only ones who vocally opposed the joining of the tables.

"I don't want to be any closer to you guys than I already am..." He stated coldly, taking his chair and moving it to a corner.

"I swear, if you guys get even so much as a _crumb_ on my coat, I will literally gouge your eyes out with a spoon." Royal threatened, turning to the two people sitting next to her: Silver and Rose.

At long last, Lava, Emerald, and Sunrise came out with the food, using serving trays that Cherry had found in a cabinet. Today, breakfast was simple Japanese: steamed rice and fish. For those who did not eat meat, there was also the option of baked tofu.

"This is delicious, Cherry!" Emerald smiled. "I've always loved Japanese cuisine."

"Same here," Merigold added. "All the unique flavors blend so well together."

True to Emerald and Merigold's word, the food was pretty good. It did make me miss my mother's homemade cooking, though...

"U-um, is anyone else a little worried about Cotton?" Indigo suddenly brought up, looking rather concerned. "We haven't seen him since yesterday..."

"The Ultimate Escapist, right?" Mauve clarified. "Monokuma said he was going to take care of him, though I'm not so sure how true that is...Regardless, there's nothing we can do for him, so I would relax if I were you."

"But it's kinda strange..." Onyx said. "How he just suddenly snapped like that. I thought he'd have more common sense."

"We were all on edge yesterday," Rose defended. "Maybe he was just a little frustrated with the codenames, and he wanted to try and prove Monokuma wrong?"

"There are some people like that," Noir nodded. "They can't _stand _not being right. Cotton was just a little _too _cocky in the way he went about things..." She nervously laughed.

"I wonder what's happening to him." Cherry frowned. "I hope he's ok..."

Without warning, the devil appeared in the middle of our table.

"_Hmmmmm_? Cotton?" Monokuma repeated. "Oh, yeah, that guy's doing fine. Nobody's picking him!"

...

...

...

"That was the worst joke I've ever heard." Noir sighed.

"Y-yeah, that wasn't funny..." Indigo agreed, meekly sinking into her chair at the sight of Monokuma.

"Hey, no need to be a douchebag when I'm just stating the truth!" Monokuma frowned, crossing his arms. "Mr. Escapist is doing A-OK! He just needs **one more week **to recover!"

"One week?" Indigo gasped. "W-what are you doing to him?"

"I have him on all the best antibiotics for his injuries," Monokuma explained. "The Despiscocide needs to be drained out of his bloodstream, and his stomach needs time to repair."

"But still, a week?" Mauve frowned.

"Yes, a week!" Monokuma repeated. "Geez, you guys are so impatient! Cotton is too weak to do things such as eating normal food and getting out of bed on his own. So, to save you all the burden of having to look over him 24/7, _I'm _taking the responsibility! Isn't that what you guys wanted when you asked me to save him?"

"If you're watching him 24/7, who is watching him right now?" I frowned.

Monokuma looked at me with a blank stare. "Bye, bye!" Then, he was gone.

"So, Mr. Cotton still needs more time to recover." Silver observed.

"It shouldn't be of any surprise given what happened to him." Diamond nodded.

I shuddered, remembering the look he gave us once he was injected with Despiscocide. The look of shock, horror, and pain.

We ended the discussion about Cotton, and continued eating.

Once I was done, I excused myself. "I'm going to do some looking around."

"OK, just be back in time for dinner." Cherry smiled.

"See ya, don't do anything I wouldn't do." Azure joked.

I bid farewell to the others and made my way towards a certain location.

* * *

There was one place on this floor that I hadn't seen yet. I opened the door to the announcement room, walking towards the stage.

On my way, I noticed that Cotton's blood was completely gone. There was not even a trace of it ever being in there. I frowned, but kept moving.

I gripped the handle of the door of the room I intended to search. I felt a little guilty, like I shouldn't be doing this, but I didn't know why. I wasn't doing anything wrong, I told myself, so I entered the room.

"So, this is the equipment room..." I muttered, looking around.

It was a small room, about as big as a closet, with the walls being lined with various...equipment. Some of it made sense to use on a ship, like hammers and rope, but other than that, it got pretty weird.** Knives**,** glow in the dark paint**,** wood planks**,** high-intensity flash lights**,** empty spray bottles **and** syringes**,** duct tape**,** zipties**, and **masks**.

Back then, I had no idea why there was a room such as this in this place, but after Monokuma's revelation of a Killing Game, it all made sense.

This room encouraged us to kill.

Along with the weird syringe of poison in our rooms, this room probably serves as a purpose to give us ways to kill. Stab someone, hang them, poison them, tie them up and leave them for dead...It was all disgusting. Why the hell is Monokuma doing this to us?!

The hammers weirded me out. There were** three of them**, each with different 'heads'. One hammer had spikes on the head, another had barbed wire, and another had nothing, but was the biggest hammer of the three. Jeez, this bear must really want us to kill each other...

"Planning on killing somebody?" I turned around and saw Silver standing behind me.

"Hell no," I answered. "I was just curious to see what this room has. Nothing of interest, though."

"Yes, I did look in here when I first woke up." Silver nodded. "But upon seeing there was really _nothing _to see, I quickly left."

"I was about to do the same thing." I nodded. "We should find a way to block this room, or something. It'd be too risky leaving it unattended."

Silver sighed. "You are unfortunately right. We don't know what other people are thinking, after all."

"True, someone could be plotting a murder right now," I shuddered.

"I hope not." Silver chuckled. "I don't see how one could be so desperate to end the life of another to further their own."

"Some people are unfortunately that selfish, man." I sighed. "Trust me, I haven't met a serial killer yet, but the people I deal with sometimes do the shadiest things just to get ahead."

"Ah, yes, you are also in the entertainment industry." Silver realized. "It is a most..._interesting_ field."

I laughed. "Yes, yes it is. How'd you become the Ultimate TV Host, if I may ask?"

Silver thought for a moment before smiling. "It is a simple story. One way or another, I ended up working as an intern for a popular TV show. Then, I worked my way up and became a TV host. Due to all my accomplishments, I was recognized as the Ultimate TV Host. Anyways, it is not_ I_ that I wish to talk about. Would you mind telling me some things about yourself, Mr. Crimson?"

I frowned at the vague response. I guess Silver isn't much of a sharer. Though, by his smiling expression and the look in his eyes, I couldn't help but wonder if he was hiding something...

"Well, what do you want to know?" I asked.

"Being an actor, it must've been hard growing up and making friends." Silver said.

"Not exactly," I shook my head. "I had a pretty normal childhood. I went to school like everyone else, and only worked after school, on Sunday, and during breaks." I explained.

"Oh, really?" Silver said in surprise. "I wouldn't have thought so."

"Yeah, my parents made sure I wasn't isolated from my friends or anything." I nodded. "The only thing is, everyone kinda knew I was an actor. So I had to deal with a lot of fake friends and even bullies. It kinda made me develop a tough skin, hence some of the things that come out of my mouth..." I chuckled.

"True, you do have a little bit of a defensive temper." Silver chuckled. "The way you defended Ms. Scarlet, from that Ultimate Pilot, for example."

"Yeah, that guys' a dickhead." I sighed. "But you're right. Growing up, it was just me and my parents. I didn't have anyone to protect me from people, so I had to defend myself. I did make a few mistakes, though, when I started getting into fights..."

"Did one of those mistakes, include...?" Silver asked, gesturing to the scar on my nose.

I nodded. "Yes. It was my first fight. The guy I was picking a fight with made fun of me for not getting a role I had bragged about auditioning for."

"Ah, the Ultimate Actor didn't get a role?" Silver inquired, raising a brow.

I nodded with a chuckle. "Yup. It would've been a major role in a TV show that was going to air internationally. One of the things I had to learn about with acting is that you unfortunately don't always get what you want. And sometimes it's not even your fault! The director might've just preferred the way someone looked better than you, or the sound or tone of their voice...Anyways, this guy calls me, and I quote" 'an untalented, cocky-ass, loser-ass bitch'...so, naturally; I sock him in the stomach. Unfortunately for me, this psycho has a knife, which he uses to cut me in the face, and ended up slashing my nose."

"Must have hurt, I'm guessing." Silver chuckled.

"Like a bitch," I laughed. "He ran away once people noticed, and I got taken to the hospital. They stitched up my nose, but it still left this gnarly scar..." I sighed, gesturing to my nose. "Basically all the roles I get require me to cover it up with make up, so a lot of people are shocked when they find out I have a scar. But geez, that guy seriously pissed me off, I wasn't _that _cocky..."

"I'm sure you were just confident in your abilities to get the role," Silver nodded. "It's definitely better than those who are so negative and pessimistic about themselves and their abilities."

"Exactly," I said. "I like to put out positive vibes rather than whining like a little bitch. Well, our kidnapping is a little bit of an exception..." I chuckled, remembering all of my meltdowns so far.

Silver and I chatted for a little bit more about my various roles, but he ended our conversation once I asked him about himself. He said he was hungry and was going to the dining room...

I personally felt pretty exhausted from waking up at 7 AM, so I decided to take a nap.

* * *

I woke up from my nap and stepped outside. My stomach was grumbling, so I headed to the dining room.

On my way, I noticed Mauve was also heading in the same direction as me.

"Hey man," I called.

He turned to look at me. "Oh, hey, Crimson. Heading to the dining room?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving. Wanna grab a bite to eat with me?"

Mauve hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Sure."

The two of us entered the dining room, and I volunteered to make lunch.

After a few minutes, I headed to the table with our food in hand.

"Hey, this looks pretty good." Mauve commented, observing the sandwiches I brought.

"To be honest, they were already made." I chuckled. "I just grabbed them out of the fridge and warmed them up."

Mauve nodded. "Oh, I do remember Frost and Cherry saying something about making a bunch of food for us to grab for lunch..."

"Wow, those two must get along pretty well," I remarked. "They've been hanging out with each other since this morning."

"I couldn't imagine spending that much time with someone..." Mauve said, taking a bite of his sandwich.

I raised a brow. "Not a people person?"

Mauve shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just hard to trust people, especially here. We don't even know each other's real names."

"True," I nodded. "But I mean, we're going to kind of have to. If what Monokuma says is true, we'll be stuck here for a long time."

Mauve looked down for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. "However long we have to stay here is however long we have to stay here. I'd like to imagine that there's a way out, but given the fact we're in space: it's highly unlikely."

"True," I sighed. "I feel like Team Escape's efforts to look for a way out are fruitless. We've already searched this ship from top to bottom..."

Mauve slowly nodded before looking like he realized something. "...There _is one _room we didn't look at..."

"What?' I raised a brow. "Know something I don't?"

Mauve shook his head. "No. You were there, remember? The last door in the hallway that we couldn't open?"

Oh shit, that's right! We were able to enter the room, but we couldn't open the door _in_ the room. "Huh, you're right. I wonder why it's locked..."

"That could very well be the solution to our problem." Mauve suggested.

"You mean an escape?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes. There _has _to be some way off this ship, right? After all, we had to be brought on somehow."

"Then it makes sense as to why the door is locked," I sighed. "Monokuma doesn't want us getting out of his killing game and 'taking the easy way out'."

"Exactly." Mauve nodded. "I'm guessing that Team Escape's main objective will be to find a way to open that door." He suggested.

Mauve and I talked for a little while longer about the killing game and looking for an escape. Before we both knew it, we were finished with our food.

"I am impressed with Cherry and Frost's cooking ability," Mauve complimented. "Almost reminds me of the food served at my family's casino."

"Oh yeah, you had mentioned that you wanted me to spread the word about it." I said. "Mind telling me a little bit more about your business?"

Mauve averted his eyes before shaking his head. "...Now is not the time." He said.

"Oh," I nodded. "OK, no problem."

I realized that quite some time had passed with our conversation. People were beginning to file into the dining room for dinner.

Azure and Rose in the middle of the table, looking as if they had an announcement to make. Poor Azure couldn't sit next to me since Mauve already was. On my other side was Indigo.

Sure enough, after everyone got settled, the pair stood up.

"Um, attention everyone," Rose said a little timidly, her cheeks slightly red, presumably with embarrassment.

"We have an announcement to make," Azure cooly smiled, his usual chill expression on his face.

"No shit." Sunrise rolled his eyes.

"Azure and I were thinking of something that'd take our mind off of...this situation." Rose started.

"Yeah, we know that nothing could truly put all of our minds at ease, but we thought that...**a party** might cheer up all of us a little." Azure announced.

"A party?" Noir repeated. "Is it someone's birthday?"

"No," Rose sheepishly smiled. "Just a party. All of the planning and setting up responsibilities would fall to everyone who signed up for the team building activities."

"That sounds fun," Emerald smiled. "I'm in! Well, I guess I already was since I signed up for the team building activities..."

"Ugh, I have to find something to wear!" Royal groaned. "Nobody else better try and outshine me or I'll gut you!"

"...What are you going to find to wear?" Scarlet raised a brow. "We only have copies of our current clothes and pajamas..."

Royal snorted. "Hah! As the Ultimate Runway Model, I have the skills necessary to make a paper bag look _chic_!"

Scarlet shook her head but backed down.

"The party would be **a week from now**, to celebrate Cotton's recovery." Azure continued.

"Awe, that's really sweet!" Merigold gushed. "A mi me gusta!"

"That sounds like a good idea," Indigo smiled, looking rather interested.

"You don't have to come," Rose said. "But it'd be appreciated, especially given what Cotton has been through."

"We'll see if I make it." Sunrise remarked, putting his feet on the table and his hands behind his head. "That little shit _did _piss me off more times than I can count."

Shadow...Actually, now that I looked closer, I think Shadow might have changed back to Cloud. His expression was Cloud's default, nervous, timid, anxious, stressed, shy, quiet expression. Anyways, he slightly smiled. "C-Cotton is one of the nicer ones here, so I'll g-go..."

"Are you sure it'll be you and not your other self?" Royal inquired, crossing her arms.

Cloud's face quickly turned a bright shade of red and he buried his face in his hands.

"Typical," Royal muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Um, I'll go," I said, changing the topic. "I think Cotton deserves this."

"Even though he may have put himself in the situation he's in now," Diamond remarked. "I'll go to support his recovery."

"Me too," Indigo added. "He'll probably be so happy and feel a lot better seeing all of us there..."

"Sure, I'll go." Onyx smiled. "Always up for a good party."

So, it was decided. We would have a party for Cotton in **one week**. Soon after we finished discussing the party, Cherry announced the food was ready and the servers from this morning served us our food (some more reluctantly than others).

Dinner tonight was simple Italian: spaghetti and meatballs. We ate in relative silence, not having much to discuss.

As I looked at everyone around the table, I couldn't help but get a bad feeling. I didn't know what it was about, but something felt...off. I almost felt as if something bad was going to happen soon...

I shook the feeling off however as soon as Azure made a joke about how he 'had to get kidnapped in order to taste good food' and made the room burst into laughter, myself included.

Who am I kidding, nothing's gonna happen. We all may not know each other _super _well, but we don't have it in us to kill.

We're just kids, after all.

* * *

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise _official_ announcement! It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially **nighttime**. Certain locations will now be locked for the remainder of the night. Sweet dreams my passengers, let the sparkle of the stars and the roar of the spaceships' engine lull you into a _deeeepppp _sleep. Gooood niighhttt!"

I sighed. _Finally_...

I was so tired that my eyes felt like they were going to fall out of their sockets. I think space must be having a negative effect on me.

I got ready for bed and then stared at the ceiling for a little while.

Tomorrow would start the team building activities that Rose and Azure had planned. They'd presumably be centered around getting ready for Cotton's party in **one week**.

I smiled. I know we were still stuck in space with no way out, but I was starting to feel a little more comfortable being here. I made some friends today, and tomorrow, with the team building activities, I'm sure that I'd make more.

I'm not usually all 'friendship is magic' or anything, but it's nice to have friends in this place. It makes me feel a little less lonely.

Plus, it reassures me that we won't kill each other.

* * *

_A/N_: **New chapter time! ****2020 has been a great year for me so far, and I'm feeling more inspired than ever. I have so many ideas with this story that I can't wait to portray. Please let me know what you guys think about the chapters in a review, and especially if you can count all the hints I may or may not have dropped about the first case! **

**Thanks for reading, see you in the next one!**


	9. The Fool and Her Groom (Part 3)

The Fool and Her Groom (Part 3)

* * *

My eyes slowly blinked open, and I awoke to the same ceiling I fell asleep to last night.

Yet another day aboard the HFH Enterprise...I think my wish of waking up from this nightmare and being back in my bedroom won't come true. However, there still is a chance that I'm in a medically induced coma and this is all a figment of my imagination, so fingers crossed!

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 7 AM, which means that nighttime is officially over! Time to get up out of bed. Let's all welcome this new day with an open heart and mind!"

This 7 AM wake up time is going to kill me before anyone else does. I haven't had to wake up this early since elementary school...

It's been a total of two days since Monokuma (and possibly someone else) trapped 20 (21?) of us aboard the HFH Enterprise. We've done the best we can in searching for a way out, but the revelation of us being in space kinda makes it useless to continue to do so. Yesterday, we decided that today, we'd commence the planning of the Despicocide fanatic Cotton's party, while another group of us would look for a way out and answers for our captivity.

I slowly rolled out of bed and trudged to the bathroom.

I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed.

Yeah...I wasn't looking so hot (which for me, was surprising). My brown hair was flat and slightly matted, my red eyes were framed with dark purple bags, and my tan skin was slightly clammy with sweat. I sighed once again. It was time for a shower.

I had been dreading taking a shower in this place. It wasn't that I hated showers or anything (on the contrary, I usually take a shower in the morning _and _at night), it was just weird to do it in this place...I mean, what if there's cameras watching our every move or something? Plus, I don't realy enjoy the thought of Monokuma seeing me in my birthday suit.

Putting aside my worries, I grabbed my things and headed in the direction of the boy's shower room.

* * *

Thankfully, there was no one else inside. I wasn't ready for my fellow kidnapees to see me butt ass naked just yet.

Each of the showers had a little section to put your clothes and get undressed/dressed, and the actual shower itself. The showers were a fairly modest size, with all of your basic controls as well as bottles of soap, shampoo, and conditioner.

I undressed myself, got in the shower, and...well, showered.

I felt a sense of...déjà vu as I entered the shower. Something felt strangely familiar. As soon as the surprisingly warm **water **hit my face, a shard of a memory came to me.

Rain...the smell of a forest...

And blood?

I shook off my strange thoughts and finished showering. I was probably just still groggy and disoriented from having to wake up so early, my mind must be all over the place...Plus, I was starting to feel a little planet sick. I can't even remember the last time I felt the Sun on my skin...

I got dressed in a pair of clean clothes, and exited the boy's shower room.

* * *

As soon as I left, a certain someone exited the girl's shower room.

"Good morning, Crimson." Rose smiled, her hair slightly damp from the shower she presumably took.

"Morning, Rose." I smiled back. "I see you had the same idea as me."

"Yes," Rose nodded. "I don't particularly enjoy being unclean." She added with a giggle.

"Same here," I nodded. "I wouldn't have waited so long to take a shower here if I knew the water was so warm!"

"Oh, I don't mind the cold," Rose divulged. "In fact, did you know that cold showers actually lower your stress and lower chances of becoming depressed?"

"No, I did not," I replied matter-of-factly. "Though I'm not surprised the Ultimate Prodigy would know something like that."

Rose slightly blushed. "Y-yes. It's one of the many 'fun facts' I learned during my studies."

"Oh wow, didn't know they taught that in the text books." I chuckled.

"Oh, no, you're mistaken," Rose said. "I learned information like that from science journals, magazines, essays, newspapers, cereal boxes, books, and of course, from my parents!"

Damn, is this girl Einstein or something? I don't have the time or the interest to study all that stuff, so kudos to her.

"Your parents must be proud, then. It must've taken a lot of work to get to become the Ultimate Prodigy, huh?"

"It's all actually thanks to them that I'm recognized as that," Rose revealed. "You see, my parents are college professors who had two..._not so smart _sons before they had me. They wanted at least one 'intelligent' child, so they'd make me study for hours on end in order to become so."

I frowned. That didn't sound like a super enjoyable childhood. I'd sooner shoot my brains out than read a book for more than an hour...

"But you were just a kid." I brought up. "You should've been playing outside with friends, not being forced to stick your nose in a book to 'become intelligent'."

Rose shook her head. "I didn't mind," She said. "I enjoy reading, studying, and learning new things. It's like a stress reliever for me."

"To each their own, I guess." I nervously laughed. Reading and studying are common stressors for me. I prefer a simple life that doesn't involve reading anything except my lines. "Well, all your hard work must've paid off. You mentioned that you skipped a few grades before, right?"

Rose nodded with a smile. "Yes! It's one of my biggest accomplishments and the one I'm most proud of. My parents were also quite pleased with me, so that's another plus."

"Isn't it a little...uncomfortable being in classes with older people?"

Rose slightly frowned. "Not for me. I may be physically younger than my classmates, but I'm more mature than 90 percent of them!" I noticed during our first meeting that Rose doesn't like having her young age brought up. I don't know why, her being younger just means she's dying later than the rest of us!

"Well I for one definitely see you as a peer," I said truthfully. "Especially when you compare your intelligence to some of the idiots we have here."

Rose giggled. "Well, thank you. I also see you as one of the better ones here. I hope we get out of here together."

I smiled. "That's a promise."

Rose and I quickly made our way over to the dining room after we realized everyone was probably waiting on us.

* * *

Sure enough, Sunrise was sitting at the head of the table with his arms crossed. "Well, well, well, look who decided to come and join us!"

"Sorry!" Rose quickly said, sitting in an open seat next to Indigo and Mauve.

"We're not _that_ late," I retorted. "And besides, what do you care?"

"I care because I'm the **leader **of this group!" Sunrise smirked.

"What the hell, since when?!" I asked in surprise. Why would Sunrise ever even be _considered _as the leader? All this man does is bitch and moan about every little thing and act like a dick to everyone. Actually, when the fuck did we even _have _a leader?

"Ever since Azure and Rose, the two de facto leaders abandoned their posts." Sunrise claimed.

Azure sheepishly smiled. "I woke up a little late..."

"I had to take a shower," Rose sadly frowned. "I didn't mean to be late..."

"Since when did we have a leader?" Onyx asked. "And since when were they determined based on who came to the table the earliest?"

"Since today." Royal responded with a smirk. She was sitting on Sunrise's right. "Sunrise and I took the liberty of being here early and imagine our surprise when no one but poor Frost was here!"

"I was actually doing just fine..." Frost muttered, handing out coffee to everyone.

"Anyways, Royal and I decided to take responsibility and take charge of our group." Sunrise grinned. "That way we'll have some order around here instead of having people running around like fucking chickens."

"Rose and the weird guy can still handle those team activities or whatever, but me and Sunrise will be taking control of all other activities!" Royal said.

"Says who?" Scarlet frowned. "We don't have to listen to a word you guys say."

"Oh yeah you do," Sunrise smirked. "According to our pilot."

A second later, Monokuma appeared on our table.

"Yup, yup!" Monokuma nodded, presumably in response to Sunrise's claim.

"How's that fair?" Mauve frowned.

"It's not," Monokuma giggled. "But who cares! Sunrise and Royal can't be worse than Stalin!"

"OK, whatever, but there's not a rule that says we _have _to listen to them," I countered. "So why are they saying that according to you we have to?"

Monokuma cleared his throat and pulled out a random e-Handbook. "A-hem, rule number seven, more rules can be added later, via Pilot Monokuma or a suggestion by a student (that can be vetoed or approved by Pilot Monokuma). Only one rule can be added per week)."

Oh shit, that's right...I hadn't looked super closely at rule number seven, but it _did_ say that more rules could be added.

"What rule was added then that makes Sunrise and Royal our resident dictators?" Frost heavily sighed.

"Rule number eight," Sunrise read from his e-Handbook. "Any student who Pilot Monokuma deems fit to be 'leader of the kidnapees' may order the students around to do as he/she pleases, as long as their request is nothing too extreme (any dispute by a student will be decided by Pilot Monokuma)."

"And Sunrise is the student who you deemed fit?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Of course!" Monokuma nodded. "He was the one who suggested the rule, after all!"

"And I don't suppose there's any way to dispute this rule?" Silver sighed.

"Not yet," Monokuma shook his head. "A rule can only be altered by another rule."

"And we can't suggest another rule until next week..." Scarlet frowned.

"Yup! Anyways, I don't know why you all are complaining," Monokuma said. "A leader will help you guys keep order and prevent any discourse!"

"Yeah, but Sunrise and Royal are less like leaders and more like tyrants." Emerald groaned.

"Too bad," Monokuma shrugged. "Someone should've stepped up earlier! Anyways, toodles my children, I have to go take care of 'Cotton ball'!"

And with that, he was gone.

The room was silent, with all of us uncomfortably staring at the table. We really had to listen to Sunrise's most likely awful demands for a whole week...

"Geez, relax, assholes," Sunrise said. "I'm not going to cancel your team building activities or your party or any shit. I just want to do a little...rearranging."

"What rearranging?" Merigold inquired. "Remember, we can dispute any request deemed by us as being 'too extreme'."

"Ugh, I'm not going to be 'too extreme'..." Sunrise rolled his eyes. "For one, I want** out of that stupid fucking 'server rule'**!" He's talking about the rule we made yesterday about the three servers every day, who are randomly chosen by the picking of names.

"So you don't ever want to be a server?" Cherry clarified.

"Exactly," Sunrise nodded. "I'm the Ultimate fucking Pilot. Flight attendants bring shit to me, not the other way around."

"OK, fine by me," Emerald said. "Just means I never have to work with you again..."

"Ooo, I want in on that rule too!" Royal eagerly said. "A person of my prestige shouldn't have to _serve_."

"Sure, whatever." Sunrise shrugged. "Anyways, number two: if we're going to have a party, it better be lit as fuck. So, **everyone must be in attendance**."

"..._What_?" Lava frowned. "But I don't want to go..."

"I don't give a fuck," Sunrise responded. "I'm not going to a lame-ass party. Everyone knows any good party has at least twenty people, which lucky for us, is the exact number of people here. So suck it up bitch, we're having a party!"

Lava and Sage were the only ones who seemed to care about Sunrise's rule (considering most of us were going to attend the party anyways). Lava simply sighed and reluctantly relented, while Sage said he 'might' make it.

"Remember, breaking a rule results in a painful injection of Despisocide..." Sunrise commented.

"Is that a threat?" Sage inquired, setting down his sketch book and glaring at Sunrise.

"No, it's a promise." Sunrise answered with a smirk.

As much as I hated to say it, Sunrise was right. If Sage didn't show up to the party, then that would be breaking rule number eight, which would therefore be a rule violation. And from what we've seen with Cotton, breaking a rule results in the not so pretty punishment of Despisocide.

Sage simply rolled his eyes and went back to his drawing.

"And finally, number three, to our 'party planners', I expect **alcohol **to be **served at the party**." Sunrise said. "I'll probably need to be buzzed to have a good time..."

Oh, c'mon, I like underage drinking as much as the next teenager, but forcing Rose and Azure to serve it is just shitty...

"I don't even know if there's alcohol aboard." Azure said with a sigh.

"Yeah, there is." Sunrise replied. "I asked Monokuma earlier."

Huh, Sunrise is pretty buddy-buddy with Monokuma...Almost makes you think that the two might be working together...

"Well, your wish is my command..." Azure replied with a slightly sarcastic tone.

Overall, I think we were all pretty tired of Sunrise. First, he's a dick to anyone with a pulse, and second, he conspires with Monokuma to make a rule that only benefits him? What a fucking asshole! Maybe someone should do us all a favor and do him in...

Sunrise said that if he thinks of any other rules or demands that he has, he'll _happily _let us know.

At last, we were finally permitted to start the breakfast making process. As usual, Cherry went into the kitchen to cook, and when she was done, she chose three names out of the cup with everyones name in it (with the temporary exclusion of Lava and Emerald and the permanent exclusion of Frost, Cherry, Sunrise, and Royal).

"**Onyx**!" Cherry said.

"No worries," Onyx shrugged. "We all gotta do our 'civic duty', right?"

"**Indigo**!" Cherry called.

"Oh, um, OK," Indigo nodded. "I'll do my best."

"And last but not least,** Mauve**." Cherry finished, setting the three's papers aside and adding Emerald and Lava's names back into the cup.

Mauve shrugged. "Sure, fine with me."

And with that, our servers of the day were chosen.

I had a little time before they'd be ready to serve the food, so I decided to have a conversation with someone to pass the time.

Frost looked a little lonely since his usual partner in crime, Cherry, was having a conversation with Noir.

"Hey Frost," I called, walking over to him.

"Crimson," He nodded. "Nice to see you."

"Likewise," I smiled. "Especially because you make the best coffee known to mankind!"

"Oh, it's not that big of a deal..." Frost claimed.

"Yes bro, it is!" I quickly countered. "I'm convinced that whatever brewing method you use, you learned from some sort of myserious deity you encountered in a desolate forest during a blood moon on Friday the 13th."

"Not exactly," Frost nervously smiled. "I actually owe everything I know to my father."

"Oh, really?" I asked. "Is he some barista master like you?"

"No, actually." Frost shook his head. "My father's a normal man who simply had an affinity for coffee. That affinity sparked an interest of my own."

"Most kids find coffee disgusting," I laughed. "I know I did. I'm surprised you liked it."

"It wasn't exactly the taste per se." Frost revealed. "It was more so the connection with it that I had. My fondest memories often include my father drinking coffee."

"Oh, that's nice," I nodded. "Mine include my father drinking alcohol. Anyways Frost, I came here to you today to find out something_** very **_important."

Frost raised a brow. "And what might that be?"

"Well, my player, I noticed you've been particularly close with Cherry," I smirked. "Does someone have a crush?"

Frost immediately blushed and glanced at the floor. "I-I don't know what you mean. Cherry and I are just friends."

"That's what they all say," I mischeviously laughed. "But don't worry, Frosty, I'll keep your secret...Just saying, though, I think she may feel the same way..."

I glanced over at Cherry who was laughing in her conversation with Noir. I caught her eye and she smiled and waved at Frost and I.

Frost's face was still as red as a cherry. He said nothing but his face said all I needed to know!

A minute later, the servers came out with our breakfast. I sat back down in my original seat and feasted.

Breakfast today was French-inspired: Croissants with strawberry or chocolate filling.

After breakfast was over, Sunrise made everyone stay behind for a meeting.

"So, today is the start of looking for an escape and..._team building activities_." He began, saying the last part of his sentence with disgust. "I will be taking my group over to the rec center. Rose and Azure can do whatever they want."

And with that, Sunrise took Royal, Onyx, Diamond, and Noir with him to the rec center.

Since Cloud was in control and could now vote, he decided he'd be a 'hindrance' to team building activities, and went with Sage and Lava back to the dorms.

Those of us left in the dining room split into two groups per Azure's suggestion. One group, consisting of 'the cool tone colors' was led by Azure and composed of Azure, Emerald, Frost, Mauve, Indigo, and Silver. They were going to be the 'brains' of the party, and were in charge of planning everything out.

The other group, led by Rose, was made up of 'the warm tone colors', and composed of Rose, myself, Cherry, Merigold, and Scarlet. We were in charge of choosing a venue and carrying out the plans set forth by Azure's group.

"Does anyone have any suggestions?" Rose inquired.

"Of a venue?" Merigold asked. "I think the announcement room's the best option. After all, it's the biggest room in here!"

Scarlet slowly shook her head. "Sorry, but I have to disagree. The announcement room is the room where Cotton almost died."

"Oh, true..." Merigold nodded, her smile dropping. "I suppose it would be a bit of a grim reminder of what happened to him."

"Then how about the rec center?" Cherry smiled. "It's a fairly large room, with plenty of stuff to do. We'd have to clear out the big table in the middle, but I'd think it'd make a pretty good party space!"

"I was thinking that, but unfortunately, the rec center is one of the rooms that closes at nighttime." Rose sadly frowned.

"Then I guess our only option is to just do it here," Scarlet said. "In the dining room."

Thinking about it, Scarlet was right. Every other room in this place is either too small or too cluttered. The dining room is the only room that makes sense.

"Perfect." Rose nodded. "We'll rearrange the table the day of the party to have the food on top of them, and we can get some chairs from the computer lab for people to sit!"

"All right then, what's next?" I asked, glancing over at Azure's group. They were hard at work working on the preparations for the party. Truthfully, there really wasn't a whole lot we could do without their finished ideas.

"One of the things Azure and I discussed was food," Rose brought up. "We were thinking that we could serve a variety of Japanese inspired foods since Cotton is Japanese. Maybe some of us can stay here and look around for ideas, while two others can stop by the rec center to maybe find a recipe book? I'd suggest more but I don't want Sunrise to be upset..."

"I'll go," I volunteered. "I wouldn't want him bitching at you guys."

"Me too." Scarlet said. "That roach doesn't scare me."

"Well then, looks like Rose, Merigold, and I will stay here to think up recipes!" Cherry smiled.

"_Makita ka mamaya_!" Merigold waved as Scarlet and I stepped out into the hallway.

* * *

"I _think _that means see you later?" I laughed once me and Scarlet were in the hallway.

"Probably." Scarlet nodded, smiling.

We started our trek to the rec center. I decided now would be a good idea to get to know Scarlet, so I slowed down and started a conversation.

"So, Scarlet, you're a dancer." I said.

She nodded. "Yes, ever since I was little I loved to dance."

"What got you into it?" I asked.

Scarlet smiled thoughtfully. "My friends, actually. We formed a dance group, 'the Butterfly Gang', and people really took a liking to us!"

"Ooo, a dance group," I laughed. "Sounds like fun. Are you still in it?"

Scarlet's smile fell from her face and she sadly frowned. "No, unfortunately not. I had to move to Japan from California when I was 15...My father got a job there that was going to bring money for our family. I understood, but I really didn't want to go...Unfortunately for me, it was my parents' decision, and my fate was sealed."

"That must've sucked," I sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that. But hey, Japan isn't that bad, right? I was born and raised there, after all!"

Scarlet laughed. "It wasn't Japan that I didn't like, it was some of the people. Some kids at my school thought I was weird for not knowing the language, and because of the fact that I would sit by myself. They didn't try and bully me or anything, it was just the fact that I felt like an outsider looking in."

"I feel you." I nodded. "Starting over in a new country would be hard for anyone."

"No kidding," She laughed. "But, I actually started to get kind of popular once kids saw me dance during a school event. They were impressed with my talent and wanted to learn how to dance like me."

"Nice, there was a happy ending after all!" I smiled.

"Not quite," Scarlet sighed. "I learned very quickly that people only wanted the fame and fortune that came with dancing. But that's not me at all! I dance for the feeling I get, the butterflies in my stomach, the adernaline rush! I didn't care that people started to dislike me again. To me, dance is worth giving up everything for."

"That's very respectable," I nodded. "Your parents must be very proud."

Scarlet glanced at the ground and smiled. "Yes, they were. Sadly, my mother passed away in a car accident when I was 16," She sniffed. "The accident had a negative effect not only on me and my dad's emotions, but also on our financials. My dad had to take out loans from a variety of loan companies, and the stress really did a number on him..."

"I'm really sorry about your mom," I said. "And your father too. Dealing with loans is always stressfull...Hey, did your father ever try out Okane Loans? My parents have always had a good experience with them."

Scarlet uncomfortably shifted away from me and frowned. "Yes...my father has definitely dealt with Okane Loans. In fact, they're the roaches who decided to raise his interest rates by 5% a week without telling him."

"H-huh?!" I asked in surprise. "That's crazy! That's never happened to my parents."

"Yes, when I tried to protest them, the rich were the first ones to shut me down, so that figures..." Scarlet sighed. "Okane Loans makes money by overcharging those without a voice, like my father. And those with the most powerful prescenses, like the parents of a famous actor, are undercharged, to keep them quiet and compliant. It's the cycle that never stops..."

I completely understood where Scarlet was coming from. But she has to realize that I, nor my parents, had any idea about Okane Loans' wrong doings. My parents are good people, and I know they wouldn't support a company that takes advantage of those who are less fortunate, considering we've been there before. I'd never want Scarlet to think I was a greedy, selfish, asshole. I'm only an asshole, nothing more.

"I'm sorry about your situation, I had no idea that Okane Loans was that shitty." I sighed. I watched her shoulders relax and she made eye contact with me, but I still felt like she didn't fully trust me. So, I made a possibly rash decision, that hopefully wouldn't come back to bite me in the ass.

"I'll help you." I said.

Scarlet raised a brow. "Um, what do you mean?"

"I mean, I'll help you." I said again. "Once we get out of here, me and my family will cover the costs of your mom's car accident, and we'll help you deal with Okane Loans."

Scarlet's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "N-no, it's fine! You don't have to!"

"But I want to." I smiled. "You seem more than deserving of a break from the stress."

"But you've just met me," Scarlet stated in disbelief. "How do you know I'm deserving?"

"I have a good sense about people," I replied. "And ever since I've met you, I've felt good vibes from you. I can tell you're a good person."

Scarlet slightly blushed and she smiled. "Thank you, Crimson. You have no idea how much this will help my father out."

"No problem," I smiled. "It's the least I can do."

Before we knew it, we were in front of the rec center door.

I sighed. "Ready to deal with Sir Sunrise?" I sarcastically asked.

"Not really," Scarlet laughed.

I opened the door and we were greeted by a most strange sight.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

Hey, I'm an actor, I like dramatic pauses!

Anyways, the strange sight was the fact that nobody was in the room. Sunrise and his crew were nowhere to be seen.

"He probably went off to look somewhere else," Scarlet suggested. "After all, their whole goal is to look for an escape, and they certainly can't find one if they stay in one room."

"True," I nodded. "Well, who cares! Just means he won't get in our way."

Scarlet and I split up and each took a different bookshelf, and pulled all of the recipe books we could find.

Then, we looked at each recipe book and seperated them based on what country of cuisine they were about.

"Another American one," Scarlet said, handing me a book by someone named Bobby Flay.

I set it on our tallest pile: the American recipe books. "Geez, you Americans love your food."

Scarlet laughed. "Hey, you haven't lived until you've tried avacado toast!"

I raised a brow. "The only thing avacado should go on is salads and in sushi rolls."

We continued our way through the books, and eventually came across some that weren't about recipes, so we decided to sort those too.

Before we knew it, we had pulled out all of the books from the bookshelf, from whatever horrendous sorting method that Monokuma used.

"There, all better." I sighed in relief. "Now we'll actually know what we're looking for whenever we need a book."

"It took a while, but I think we managed to find every recipe book about Japan _and _books about Japan in general. " Scarlet laughed.

"Hey, what's this?" I asked. There was a note on the last shelf, that was previously covered by books.

I picked it up, and read the very interesting contents...A lot of words were scratched out or faded, but I was able to make out what the letter said.

**To**: -scratched-

**From**: -scratched-

_Thank you for cooperating with us on -scratched-. In return, we're more than happy to help you with your request on learning about -scratched-. This actually goes along with your request about using codenames for -scratched-. _

_To achieve -scratched-, a very useful method is the use of codenames rather than real names. Real names can be triggers for -scratched-, and seeing as we'd like to avoid that at all costs, codenames are a great idea. We'd suggest using codenames related to the -scratched- past, as it'll be easier for them to feel a connection to their new codename, even if they don't realize it at first. For example, Cotton would be a great codename for -a long scratched sentence- due to -a long scratched sentence-. _

_If you have any more questions or need additional help, please don't hesitate to contact us again. _

_God bless the HFH -scratched-,_

_-scratched-_

What the fuck? This looks like this is a letter about giving people codenames to avoid...something.

And it's pretty damn clear that _we're _those people. I instantly showed the note to Scarlet.

"That's definitely weird." She frowned. "According to this letter, we were given our codenames to avoid triggering something, and the codenames that were given to us were to make us feel a connection to them regarding our past?"

"I don't know about you, but Crimson doesn't ring any bells at all." I frowned. "If anything, it's one of my least favorites shade of red." I've always disliked the color crimson since it doesn't complement my eyes.

"Scarlet doesn't relate to my past, either." Scarlet shook her head. "Maybe this letter isn't about us?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "All I know is I have even more questions as to our captivity here..."

I stuffed the letter in my pocket, intending to show it to the others later. Scarlet and I put the books back in order, took the recipe books, and made our way back to the dining room.

* * *

As me and Scarlet entered the dining room, I realized that we had spent hours in the rec center, which made sense considering all the work we did.

Everyone was now was back in the dining room for dinner.

"What took you two so long?" Shadow (who now as in control of Cloud) sneered.

"None of your business." I rolled my eyes, setting the books in a corner and taking a seat next to Indigo and Mauve.

"We were busy with reorganizing Monokuma's mess." Scarlet explained with a sigh as she took a seat.

"Sorry guys, I knew it'd take you awhile!" Rose said. "But luckily, we now know what to do for the party."

"Now we just have to actually decorate." Cherry laughed.

"We should probably start the day before, correct?" Frost suggested.

I nodded. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

"In the meantime, we'll do other activities for team building." Azure nodded.

So it was settled. Planning for Cotton's party was complete, and we didn't have to worry about it until the day before, where we would then start putting decorations up and preparing for Cotton's return.

Dinner tonight was sandwiches that Cherry and Frost had previously prepared.

Our servers from this morning were able to quickly get them from the fridge and bring them to us since they were just wrapped in aluminum foil.

Halfway through eating I decided now would be a good idea to talk about the note. I passed it around, and everyone read it.

"This is definitely strange." Diamond frowned. "Two people were in collaboration with creating our codenames, for a specific reason to avoid a trigger?"

"What the hell does this mean?" Onyx groaned. "My head's spinning all over the place!"

"I feel like we know even less than we did before." Mauve rolled his eyes, visibly frustrated.

"That damn bear, he's playing games with us!" Emerald remarked.

"Exactly," Merigold sighed. "He's giving us half-answers instead of just telling us the whole truth."

"It's all to encourage more distrust among each other." Silver theorized. "He's creating more questions to inspire more arguments, which he hopes will eventually cause one of us to snap and kill someone to find out answers and to get out of here."

"It's ridiculous!" I said. "We're just fucking high school students, not killers..."

"Exactly." Scarlet nodded. "I don't see any of us killing anyone."

"We'll find out the answers in time, guys." Azure smiled. "Let's just be patient and make Monokuma even more pissed off!"

And so, it was decided. We had no clue what the letter meant, but we weren't going to stress over it. Who knows if it's even real?

We may all be strangers to each other, but we were starting to get closer everyday. And the thought of killing anyone, especially these people, was out of the question.

* * *

Two days later, I awoke to a strange announcement.

"Gooodd morning everyone! Please head to the announcement room, for a _beary _special surprise!"

Huh? That wasn't the usual morning announcement...

It's been a total of four days since we've been kidnapped. In the two days since the planning of Cotton's party and the discovery of the letter, not much has happened. I've just been participating in Azure and Rose's team building activities (which has included cooking together, playing board games, and cleaning.), while Sunrise and his team has searched for a way out (to no one's surprise, they've found nothing.). Other than that, nothing dramatic or interesting has happened.

But now Monokuma wants to meet with us in the announcement room? I didn't have a good feeling about this...

* * *

After getting ready, I headed to the announcement room. There, everyone sat in the same seats we had sat in just four days before, waiting for Monokuma's announcement.

I took my seat next to Azure, Rose, and Frost.

"I'm not looking forward to seeing what the bear has to say." Frost frowned.

"Me neither." Rose sighed. "Whatever he has to say can't be good..."

"Maybe Cotton's all better?" Azure suggested, trying to remain positive.

"I wouldn't hold my breath." I frowned.

Thankfully, we didn't have to wait long.

In an instant, Monokuma appeared on his podium, looking at all of us with a strange, gleeful expression.

"I'm disappointed in you guys!" He said with a smile (for some reason...).

"W-why?" Cloud asked.

"I'm glad you asked two-face!" Monokuma cackled. "Because, none of you are dead!"

"That's kinda mean..." Noir frowned.

"Yeah, it's a good thing that we're all still standing!" Cherry retorted.

"So you're saying that you all want to stay together on this ship that much?" Monokuma asked in disbelief. "If I were you guys, I would have killed someone the second I heard that I was in space! I mean, haven't you heard that being in space makes you gain weight?"

"It's _lose _weight..." Diamond corrected.

"And according to you, our conditions here on this ship are perfect." Mauve brought up. "That means that we don't have to experience the negative effects of space, right?"

"Grrr, I should turn off the oxygen generator to teach you all a lesson!" Monokuma threatened.

"Cut to the chase, furball." Royal said, rolling her eyes. "Why are we here?"

Monokuma evily grinned, looking like he was about to reveal the most despicable thing ever.

"Well, since you're all so unmotivated to kill, I thought I'd spice some things up a bit!" Monokuma replied.

"What's that mean?" Onyx questioned with a frown.

"It means, I'm giving you guys extra encouragement to kill!" Monokuma laughed. "I understand your main concern about killing someone! You've all grown _so _close to each other, and the thought of leaving here all alone must be _sooooo_ lonely. So, I'm implementing the **Savior Perk**!"

"Savior Perk?" Emerald repeated.

"Yup, that's right!" Monokuma nodded. "The Savior Perk is like a one for two deal! Kill one classmate, and escape with you and someone else for free! In other words, kill someone, and you can take someone else with you back home to Earth!"

We all quickly grew quiet, all glancing at each other with uncertainty and wonder. One of the mains turn offs about the whole killing game was that you'd be considered selfish if you ended the life of another just to save your own. But the Savior Perk would mean that you'd be doing it save yourself _and _someone else.

_I _wouldn't stoop that low.

However, _someone_ here might...

I looked around at some of the students who have gotten close to each other...

Frost and Cherry, Cherry and Noir, Royal and Sunrise (they still kind of bitch about each other to each other, though), hell, even me and Azure...Would one of us kill someone else just to escape with our friend?

"Anyways, I must be on my way. Gotta take care of Houdini," Monokuma said. "Consider my offer! Think about it, you'd be killing one bird to save two stones!"

And with that, he vanished.

"...No one's seriously thinking about his offer, right?" Emerald worriedly asked.

"Not me!" Indigo quickly said, with a distressed frown on her face.

"You don't have to worry about me..." Lava said.

"If someone were seriously thinking about it, they wouldn't tell us..." Mauve sighed.

"So, we just have to trust each other." Azure smiled. "Shouldn't be hard, we've been doing it since we've been here."

"Yeah, I'm not killing anyone just to have to bring one of you with me." Sunrise scoffed.

"I'm sure everyone feels the same way, Sunrise..." I muttered.

So, Monokuma's given us an extra incentive to murder. Kill someone, and rescue another.

It was honestly a great plan. Wait until all of us got closer to each other, and then spring a motive on us that's based on the fact that we've all gotten closer to each other.

But still, I wasn't going to give in! Cotton's party was just a few days away, and he must have some idea on how to get out of this place, with him being the Ultimate Escapist. We just have to be patient.

I just hope that everyone here feels the same way...

However, there might be one person here who just can't resist...

* * *

_A/N_: **Woo-hoo, a new chapter! I hope all of your guys' 2020 is going good so far. For me, it's been going great! I'm in college now, and I only have school two days a week, so I'm able to do a lot more writing! **

**We're getting really close to the killing, guys. I'm not going to tell you what chapter it is to ruin the surprise, but it's soon! Hell, maybe it's the next chapter?**

**Who do you guys think our victim and killer are? Remember, it could be anyone, regardless of the fact if they've had a Free Time Event or not. Let me know your theories and what you guys think about the chapter!**

**Until next time!**


	10. The Fool and Her Groom (Part 4)

The Fool and Her Groom (Part 4)

* * *

The aftermath of Monokuma's motive left all of us standing around, shocked, scared, and suspicious. I'm sure that there were already some people who were keeping their eye on certain people who've gotten closer, their paranoia kicking in. I, for one, wasn't _super_ paranoid, but there was a slight feeling of uncertainty in my heart. All I could do was just hope that no one would end up killing.

"What a fucking mess." Sunrise groaned. "But whatever. If you're stupid enough to listen to Monokuma's motive, then by all means, kill away. But, because I don't want any blood on my hands, I'm implementing a new order."

"And what that might be?" Sage asked, a brow raised. "Every other order you've announced has done nothing except benefit you..."

"Shut the fuck up," Sunrise snapped. "Anyways, **any object obviously capable of killing someone will now be seized**."

"Do you mean anything that can be used as a weapon?" Frost asked in order for clarity.

Sunrise rolled his eyes. "No shit. Mainly, I mean the stuff in the **equipment room**."

Ah, that's right. There's a whole room in here dedicated to helping people come up with ways to kill someone. Me and Silver already discussed blocking it off, so I'm relieved that Sunrise is actually going through with it.

"Since most of you guys are probably lazy as hell, I'll do it myself." Sunrise revealed.

I was impressed with Sunrise actually taking responsibility for being the leader for once. So, I made my second rash decision of the week.

"I'll help too." I volunteered.

"I don't need your help," Sunrise glared. "You'll probably just slow me down anyway."

"Yeah well, I'm going to help anyway." I shrugged. "Unless you want to order me not to?"

Sunrise glared at me for a moment longer before shrugging. "Fine, if you want to help, I'm not going to stop you."

"Good luck, Crimson." Scarlet joked, patting me on the shoulder.

"Thanks, I'm going to need it." I laughed.

Hungry from the lack of breakfast, everyone but Sunrise and I made their way to the dining room.

It was a little awkward being alone with the leader of the Soviet Union, but I guess now was the chance to get to know him.

"So, Sunrise," I started, trying to find the words I wanted to say. "...How do you feel about this situation?"

Sunrise said nothing for a moment before rolling his eyes at me. "Why the fuck would I tell you how I feel about anything? You don't even like me. And trust me, the feeling's mutual, D-Lister." As he spoke, he was pulling wooden planks out of the equipment room and handing them to me.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes back at him. "...I may not _like_ you, but we're going to be here for a while. So, it'd be worthwhile to get to know you." I explained. "Plus, I like planes, so maybe you can tell me about that."

Sunrise stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to look at me. "_You _like planes? What's your favorite model?"

"...Um...First-class?" I answered.

Sunrise sighed. "Yeah, figures. You're just a poser like the rest of them." He went back to grab planks.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned.

"Tch, means you're just a fake ass celebrity he wants to act like he knows more than he does," Sunrise said. "You make fun of the rest of us simply because we're 'lower on the totem pole'."

Damn, he couldn't be more wrong. All I said was that I liked airplanes, not that I knew everything and anything there is to know about them.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, but you couldn't be any further from the truth," I said. "I'm not the most intelligent when it comes to planes, but I'm not feigning my interest about them. I think it's cool as hell that an object is capable of flying hundreds of pounds across the world."

"Tens of thousands, if you're talking about passenger planes." Sunrise corrected. "A hundred thousand if you're talking about a cargo plane."

"Damn, I didn't know that." I said truthfully."What types of planes have you flown?" I inquired.

Sunrise looked down for a moment before sighing and relenting to having a conversation with me. "...I've flown commercial and crop dusters."

"Crop dusters?" I repeated. "What's that?"

"It's how farmers get their plants fertilized, sprayed with protectant, and plant multiple seeds," Sunrise explained. "You fly the plane over the field and the product is sprayed as you fly."

"Oh, cool," I commented. "So that means you're a farmer?"

Sunrise slowly nodded. "...Yes. My parents own a farm back in Texas."

"Texas?" I repeated. "I never would've guessed. What brought you to Japan? Hope's Peak?"

Sunrise narrowed his eyes. "None of your business." He replied coldly. "It's a shitty reason that I wouldn't tell someone I just met."

OK, fair enough. I was proud of Sunrise for at least giving me a few minutes of his time. It still didn't erase all the douchey things he's done, but at least he's making progress.

"This should be enough planks." I said, changing the subject.

Sunrise nodded. "OK. I'm going to get the hammer and nails now."

With that, he went deeper into the equipment room to obtain what we needed.

While he was getting the supplies, I took a closer look at the wooden planks. They looked like your traditional wooden planks at first glance, but upon closer inspection, I saw something familiar.

_Prop. HPA_

It didn't take a rocket scientist or an Ultimate Prodigy to know that HPA is a common acronym for Hope's Peak Academy, the school all of us were accepted to and set to attend.

Come to think of it...20 Ultimate students from across the world have gone missing. Surely, people must be looking for us! Our family, friends, coworkers, and fans all must be searching for us across the globe. Hopefully, they'll soon realize that we're not on Earth, though...

Anyways, does the HPA on the wooden planks really stand for Hope's Peak Academy? And if so, why? I've been thinking the school has had something to do with our situation since that note I got on Day 1, stating that we're all Ultimates. But would the 'greatest school in the world' kidnap 20 teenagers, take them to outer space, and urge them to kill each other?

My thoughts were interrupted as Sunrise came back out with the supplies.

"Let's get a move on." He demanded.

I held up the planks as Sunrise hammered them against the doorframe.

It took a while, but at last, we successfully blocked off the door. No one could get in even if they tried!

We had set aside a few important tools that could we'd need for emergencies, but other than that, all of the dangerous weapons were locked in the room.

"I'll bring these tools to my room," Sunrise said. "If anyone ever needs to use them, they can ask me."

"OK, fine with me." I nodded.

Sunrise wordlessly left me alone in the announcement room.

I sighed, looking around at my surroundings. It was pretty sad that we had to resort to blocking off a room in order to ensure that no murder would occur, but hey, it was better safe than sorry.

As I thought about it more, however, there was still one place that someone could get weapons. The solution to prevent someone from obtaining and using them wasn't as simple as hammering a door closed, however...

* * *

"Onyx," I called in surprise. I had entered the kitchen to come up with a solution to someone possibly using the knives in there as a weapon.

Onyx was currently eating a cookie, presumably taking a break from looking for an escape.

"Hello, Crimson." He nodded after he finished his cookie. "What brings you here? Are you also hungry?"

I chuckled. "Well, yeah. Monokuma's announcement and helping Sunrise made me miss breakfast and lunch, but I had other reasons to come here."

"What might that be?" Onyx inquired. "If you don't mind me asking, of course."

"It's no big deal," I shook my head. "I was just wondering if there was any way we could get rid of the kitchen knives...without _getting rid of the kitchen knives_."

Onyx chuckled. "I'm not following."

I also laughed. "Like, we can still have the kitchen knives, but just for cooking purposes. The rest of the time, we'd have them locked up somewhere or something."

"Ah, I understand now." Onyx nodded. "Maybe you'll have some luck talking to Cherry. She is our cook, after all."

"You don't have any ideas, Onyx?" I asked. "I don't want to bother Cherry when she's already done a lot for us."

Onyx thought for a moment. "Hm, I've had to come up with many ideas, with me being a salesman and all. But this is definitely a unique situation. A way to ensure other's use the kitchen knives for what they're intended for, not as weapons."

We both stood in silence for a moment before Onyx suddenly smiled. "I got it! What about, a **kitchen bodyguard**?"

"Kitchen bodyguard?" I repeated. "What do you mean?"

Onyx cleared his throat and put his hand on my shoulder. "Allow me to explain," He started. "We could have someone designated as guarding the kitchen during the day. We could pick a different person every day, similarly to how we pick different servers every day. Having a kitchen bodyguard would ensure a 100% survival rate among us, as the bodyguard would oversee proper usage of kitchen supplies, and make sure they don't leave the kitchen. Consider my offer, it won't stand for long!"

Then he realized what he said and chuckled. "Haha, sorry, old habit."

I nodded. "Sounds like a good idea. But what happens if the bodyguard is the one with sinister things in mind?"

Onyx thought for a moment before nodding. "A-ha, you've brought up a very valid point! Well, my friend, I offer you an alternative offer: why have **1 **bodyguard when you can have **2**!"

"2 bodyguards?" I repeated. "Tell me more."

"Having 2 bodyguards will ensure that they keep each other in check," Onyx explained. "So if one gets a wicked idea, the other one can stop them!"

"Sounds like a plan," I nodded. "Thanks, Onyx! I think I can figure out the rest of what to do. You've definitely helped me out."

"No worries," Onyx smirked. "We're all trying to help each other out, right?"

"Exactly," I nodded. "If only Sunrise and Royal could realize that."

"Haha, they're not so bad." Onyx chuckled. "I've been working on them with finding an escape, and so far they haven't made Diamond, Noir, and I crazy. Shadow is really the only one who pisses us off whenever he's in control..."

"Sounds about right," I nodded, remembering Shadow's unlikeable personality. I suddenly remembered when Scarlet and I investigated the rec center, only to find that Team Escape was M.I.A.. "Hey, Onyx, if you don't mind me asking: What exactly has Team Escape been up to?"

"Well, looking for an escape," Onyx answered. "We've mostly been focusing on locating vents, analyzing the maps, looking for keys, codes, and just everything that could help lead to an escape."

"Have there been any major discoveries?" I asked.

Onyx shook his head with a sigh. "Not really. Honestly, I think you and Scarlet's discovery of the note in the rec center has been the biggest discovery so far!"

I chuckled. "True. But, I hope you guys manage to find something. It'd be great to get out of this place."

Onyx suddenly looked like he remembered something.

"Ah, that's right!" He said. "We did _realize _something."

"What was it?" I questioned.

"After looking at the map of the ship, we drew a mental picture in our heads. And we realized that the layout of the ship, for supposedly_ being _a ship, doesn't make any sense." Onyx explained.

I thought about it, and I could see where Onyx was coming from.

There's a basement on the bottom floor, with a bunch of incinerators for some reason. Then, there's a stairway leading to another floor, which continues for a long way. _Then_, there's yet another floor.

Plus, there are so many things that we shouldn't be able to do aboard a normal space ship. Eating normal foods, standing on our own two feet without any problems, breathing like normal...

"That definitely fuels our 'we are not actually in space' theory." I nodded.

Onyx shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, man. It's definitely weird." He said. "Plus, Sunrise said he can't remember any conversation about anyone building a spaceship like this."

"It's not even like a space ship, in my opinion," I said. "It's more like something from Star Wars or something."

"Star what?" Onyx laughed.

"Oh, it's an American movie," I explained. "Anyways, thanks for your help Onyx! I owe you one."

"No worries." Onyx nodded. "Although, I'll have to think up a favor..."

* * *

_**Bonus Scene: Girl Talk **_

After my conversation with Onyx, I decided it'd be best to report to Rose. According to the schedule she gave us on our first day of team building, she and the rest of the 'warm tone' group should be in the computer lab today.

Upon entering the computer lab, I was immediately greeted by a chorus of laughter.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

Cherry, Rose, Merigold, and Scarlet were currently sitting around a table, each of them holding some sort of magazine.

"Crimson," Scarlet smiled. "You have to come play with us."

"This is probably the most enjoyable activity I've done so far here," Rose beamed. "Thanks for the idea, Merigold!"

"Oh, _no problemo_." Merigold winked. "When I found these in the rec center, I knew they'd be a perfect 'team-building exercise'." She added with a giggle.

"You were definitely right!" Cherry laughed. "I don't usually like super girly stuff like this, but it does help take the stress of Monokuma's motive off."

"That was the intent." Merigold smiled.

"What's up?" I asked, pulling up a chair next to Rose. If I remember correctly, Rose said we'd be coming up with possible passwords for the computers today. But the computers were completely untouched, with all of the girls instead holding a magazine and a pencil in their hand.

"Merigold found this magazine, where you're supposed to rank how cute your classmates are." Rose blushed.

"But we've been doing them using the guys here!" Cherry explained. "So far, we've put Sunrise and Shadow at the bottom of our lists."

"Definitely." Merigold nodded. "They're not that bad looking, but their personalities are a definite turn-off."

"Agreed." Scarlet said.

"Hey, what about the girls?" I questioned with a sly smile. "Shouldn't they be ranked too?"

"Trust me, I wouldn't be opposed," Merigold started. "But there's not enough space on this page. We'll have to save that for another day."

"Well, whatever. I'll play." I laughed, taking a glance at the magazine. They had written the names of every guy aboard the ship, and so far ranked Shadow 11th, and Sunrise 10th.

"I'm going to have to say my boy Sage next. I think he's far better than Shadow and Sunrise, but he's still far from an Azure or me." I grinned.

"True!" Cherry nodded. "He seems nice, he just needs to talk more."

"Then next would be Frost," Merigold suggested. "I like him, but he can be a bit...plain sometimes."

"Hey, I disagree!" Cherry quickly protested. "I've had some really nice conversations with Frost."

"Well, that figures." I chuckled. "You two are always joined at the hip."

"I have noticed that." Scarlet smiled. "Almost makes you think something's going on between you two..."

Cherry blushed. "T-that's not true, we're just friends!"

"If you say so..." Rose said very quietly with a giggle.

"Silver's next." Cherry said, changing the subject. "He's nice, but a little intimidating."

"It's the height." Merigold added. "I mean, his head almost touches the ceiling. _Effrayant_!"

So, Shadow's 11th, Sunrise's 10th, Sage's 9th, Frost's 8th, and Silver's 7th. Then 6th would have to be...

"My boy Mauve." I sadly sighed. "I hate to rank him so low, but he's another one who doesn't speak up too much."

"Aw, Mauve!" Merigold smiled. "He's really sweet though, when he wants to be."

"Really?" Rose asked in surprise. "I find him to be a little...on the annoying side."

"Annoying?" Scarlet raised a brow. "How so?"

"We were playing cards," Rose explained. "And he kept...winning! Over and over again, like it was nothing. Honestly, I think he might've been cheating..._And _he kept calling me 'kid'. I hate when people do that, so I'm starting to hate Mauve."

"Wow, Rose, I've never seen you so passionate before." Cherry remarked in surprise.

Rose immediately blushed and looked down. "W-was I too much?"

"No, not at all." Scarlet shook her head. "We're are here to build each other up, right? So, I think we can talk about whatever's on our mind."

"Exactly," Merigold smiled. "Rant away!"

"I'm OK now." Rose shook her head. "I'll propose Onyx to be our 5th."

"Onyx definitely has some jokes up his sleeve." Merigold laughed. "He's made me laugh on more than one occasion."

"True, and his eyes are a pretty color." Cherry smiled.

"His hair too oily and combed down for my taste." Scarlet giggled. "It makes him look older than what he really is, in my opinion."

"You like fluffy hair then?" I asked, gesturing to my own hair. "So _I'd _be more your style?"

Scarlet quickly shook her head. "U-um, that's not what I meant!" She blushed. "I'm just saying on _him_-"

"No worries, Scar." I laughed. "Just teasing. Anyways, who'd be 4th? This is getting hard now."

"It is." Cherry frowned. "Every other guy left is so sweet and cute!"

"Cloud, maybe?" Merigold suggested. "He is the other half of Shadow, and that creeps me out."

"Aw, but he's so cute!" Cherry stated. "I just want to give him a hug every time I see him getting anxious."

"He does have that 'puppy-dog' look about him, doesn't he?" Rose smiled.

"I'm gonna have to say Cotton's 3rd." Cherry said. "He's cute, sweet, _and _smart, but also totally impulsive."

"Yes, regrettably." Merigold sighed. "I feel bad for him. He hasn't even gotten a chance to know any of us yet."

"But he'll be better soon." Scarlet reminded. "And I'm sure he'll love the party."

"True." Cherry nodded. "_Anyways_...Ladies and gents, we're down to our last 2 bachelors!"

"Hm, Azure and Crimson, huh?" Rose thought.

"Heheh, you ladies know the correct answer, don't you?" I smirked, flashing a wink.

"Of course we do!" Merigold smiled back. "Azure!"

"W-what?!" I asked in shock. "Azure?"

"Azure." Rose nodded. "He's sweet, cute, smart, level-headed, and a great leader."

"Yup!" Cherry agreed. "Crimson, you definitely have the looks and the personality going for you, but you haven't really shown us how smart you are, and you don't have the best track record when it comes to angry outbursts."

"_Fine_." I pouted. "Azure _is _pretty cute..."

* * *

Our 'girls talk' took a pretty long time, so it was already time for dinner. As usual, Cherry went into the kitchen to cook. The servers today were Sage, Rose, and Lava.

I decided now would be a good time as any to share Onyx's idea about having two bodyguards to watch over the kitchen equipment.

"I like it!" Emerald nodded. "It'd definitely make us feel a lot safer."

"I'm up for it too." Mauve agreed. "Anyone tries something and I'll restrain them right away."

"I like that idea." Indigo said quietly. "I don't want anybody to get hurt..."

"It's definitely intriguing." Diamond nodded. "Though, we'd have to work out some specifics."

"Count me in as a bodyguard, sounds like fun!" Noir cheered.

"I also wouldn't be opposed to being a bodyguard." Silver said. "It'd be an honor protecting you all."

"Tch, Cloud's weak body can barely lift a fork, so count him out." Shadow sneered. "And I guess that means me, too..."

"Well, King Sunrise, what's your ruling?" I asked, watching as Sunrise boredly watched us converse.

He thought for a moment and sighed.

"...I _guess_ it's a good idea." He said with a dry tone. "But I have a few rules that I want to add."

"Shoot away." I encouraged.

"First, me and Royal will never be bodyguards. And, I'll also excuse anyone who was assigned as a server for that day. Lastly, no one can be a bodyguard two days in a row. Other than that, do whatever the fuck you want." Sunrise yawned.

"Thanks, Sunrise." I smiled. It was refreshing to see him actually act like a leader, unlike Royal, who was currently retouching her make up.

"Whatever." Sunrise shrugged, going back to doing nothing.

Soon after our discussion about the implementation of bodyguards, Cherry came out and announced the food was ready.

Our servers took off, and soon after came back with our food of the night: Greek salad.

We ate our meal in relative silence.

I think everyone was a little on edge with the announcement of Monokuma's motive.

Looking around at everyone, I couldn't help but get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach.

There are 18 people I barely know sitting with me.

Would it really be possible for _all of us_ to resist Monokuma's motive?

You know what, I'm going to try and be positive! I'm sure we're all strong enough to resist his temptations.

We'll get out of here together!

I'll make sure of it, even if kills me.

* * *

_A/N_: **Yay, new chapter time :) I always look forward to seeing your guys' reactions. **

**This chapter can be kind of seen as a 'filler chapter'.**

**This is the shortest chapter yet, to segway into the biggest one yet, next chapter. Nothing super important happening in this chapter, just a few details you'll want to take note of, and a bonus scene inspired by Kaede and Rantaro's bonus scene in DRV3. **

**Let me know your guesses for the first victim and killer! **

**_Or_ who knows, maybe Crimson's right and they'll all live happily ever after aboard the HFH Enterprise? **


	11. The Fool and Her Groom (Part 5)

The Fool and Her Groom (Part 5)

* * *

So far, Day 6 has been annoyingly uneventful. I had the honor of being the first bodyguard, alongside Lava.

It was half way through the day, and I was getting tired of being quiet, so I decided to bother my bodyguard partner.

I know talking isn't her favorite activity, but I figure that talking about things she was interested in might help.

"Lava, it's been a week since we've been here." I brought up. "How are you doing?"

She looked up at me from her journal and tilted her head. "...What do you mean?"

"Um, like, how are you doing? Are you feeling happy, sad?" I explained.

"Oh...I don't particularly care." She answered. "Although, I do feel slight anger."

"Anger?" I repeated in surprise. "Towards who?"

Lava thought for a moment before setting down her journal and frowning. "Sunrise."

"Sunrise?" I repeated. "I mean yeah, he's a dick, but everyone knows that. Why are you so angry at him?"

Lava sighed. "He's making me go to that party..."

Ah, I remember now. King Sunrise made a royal decree that 'every classmate shall be present at Cotton's party, or they will be injected with a healthy dose of Despiscocide'.

The normally quiet and anti-social Lava and Sage were the two most affected since they weren't planning on attending.

"Hey, I'm sure it won't be _that_ bad." I chuckled. "Who knows, maybe you'll have some fun."

Lava shook her head slowly. "Not likely. I do not enjoy social gatherings..."

"Well, you don't really enjoy social _anything_." I muttered. "But maybe Sunrise will let you off the hook once he gets a few drinks in him."

Lava nodded. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot that he also made alcohol a compulsory attendant of Cotton's party. With luck, he'll get too drunk to be able to tell that I'm not there."

"Hopefully." I chuckled. "But, we also have to be careful around Royal, Sunrise's de facto second-in-command."

"Yes, I imagine that she'll be quite the thorn in the side if she notices me leaving the party early." Lava frowned.

Sunrise is our official leader, chosen by Monokuma as the one he deems 'most fit' to lead the group. Sunrise himself chose Royal as his second-in-command, which means we also have to listen to her demands and requests, though violating them won't result in an automatic injection of Despicocide until she alerts Sunrise of our defiance.

I groaned. The party was the day after tomorrow, and I already wasn't looking forward to being Sunrise and Royal's slave.

* * *

Me and Lava had spent the rest of last night in silence, with me occasionally trying to get a few words out of her.

Unfortunately, our conversation about Sunrise and Royal was the only conversation that lasted longer than a minute.

No worries, though. Today marks the seventh day of our captivity on board the HFH Enterprise. And more importantly, tomorrow, Cotton returns to our group, and we're throwing a party for him.

I was honestly pretty damn excited. It was going to be nice to have Cotton back with us, and having a party was just the thing I needed to take my mind off the stress that this situation has caused. I mean, shit...A week without seeing my family...

I quickly shook off my negative thoughts and got ready for the day.

Stepping out into the hallway, I was immediately greeted with a sight that I've grown quite accustomed to: Shadow arguing with my classmates.

Whenever Shadow is in control of Cloud, he brings nothing but trouble. Between his childish insults, rude comments, and mischevious tricks, we've all grown tired of him and have yelled at him every chance we get in an attempt to put him in his place. Unfortunately, he never seems to take the hint and continues to be an annoying asshole.

Today, it was Silver and Scarlet who Shadow pissed off.

"No, I told you before that we should _all _be in the dining room by 8:00. It makes everything go a lot faster when we're all there." Scarlet frowned, crossing her arms and glaring at Shadow.

"Well, the thing is, I don't care." Shadow harshly quipped. "Just do whatever the hell you need to do _without me_. I'll get breakfast when I'm ready to, not when some dancing fairy princess tells me to."

"Mr. Shadow, it is not just you that you're affecting." Silver sighed. "We all need to be present in the dining room for when Cherry picks the names of the servers and bodyguards for the day. If someone is not present and their name is called, then it's not fair to any of us."

"Sounds like a you problem." Shadow shrugged. "I never agreed to any rules besides the one in the e-Handbook."

"It's not in the e-Handbook, but Sunrise has ordered us to make sure everyone is in the dining room by 8:00. And disobeying his rules will get you killed. Plus, he lent us his room key, and said we could use force if necessary..." Scarlet replied, twirling said room key in her hands. I could tell it was killing her to refer to Sunrise as an authority figure, but I could also tell that she just wanted Shadow to shut the fuck up so Sunrise wouldn't bitch at her later.

Shadow rolled his eyes but looked at his ankle bracelet. He shook his head in annoyance and made his way towards the dining room.

Silver breathed a sigh of relief. "I am glad that is over with..."

"Looks like you guys were having a little trouble there." I chuckled, walking up to the two.

"Just Shadow being his usual roach self." Scarlet sighed. "Sunrise apparently wants everyone to start being in the dining room by 8:00." She explained.

"So I heard," I nodded. "Makes sense, I guess. That way we can get the server and bodyguard picking done quickly."

"Yes, it is a good idea in theory." Silver agreed. "However, it is most troubling when a select few do not listen to him. I don't think they realize that the consequences of disobeying him is not a simple slap on the wrist, it's a permanent sentence of death...Mr. Sunrise has even had to give us his room key to threaten them with force."

"Select few?" I repeated. "Shadow wasn't the only one giving you guys trouble?"

Scarlet shook her head. "Sage, Lava, and Noir did not enjoy having to get out of their rooms early, but they listened to us a lot quicker than Shadow did."

"Yes, Mr. Shadow is not the friendliest." Silver chuckled. "It is almost 8:00. Shall we head back to the dining room?" He inquired.

Scarlet nodded. "Let's go. I guess Sunrise also has an announcement he wants to make."

"Another announcement, huh..." I muttered. I wondered what our Ultimate Pilot has up his sleeve this time around...

* * *

The dining room was pretty lively today. People were chatting amongst themselves, party preparation was happening, and things were starting to be moved around in order to accommodate having everyone in the dining room tomorrow, including Cotton, who has yet to have the opportunity to spend time with any of us.

A few minutes after I came in, Cherry announced that breakfast was ready, and it was time to pick the servers and bodyguards for the day.

I held my breath and crossed my fingers in anticipation. Those who were picked to be servers today wouldn't have to be servers tomorrow.

I definitely didn't want to have to be a server tomorrow! I wanted to focus on setting up the _fun _stuff for the party, not having to deal with the food!

I also didn't want to be a bodyguard tomorrow, but there was no way to guarantee that. I was a bodyguard yesterday, so my name was already out of that cup for today, and it'd go back in tomorrow.

"Merigold," Cherry read.

"_Pas de problème_." Merigold smiled.

"Mauve." Cherry continued.

Mauve chuckled. "Sure, I pretty know much everything about being a server now anyways."

"And..." Cherry started.

_Please, please, please!_

"Crimson!" She said.

I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Got it."

I had never been a server before onboard the ship or back home. I've mostly just had the family butler take care of all that stuff.

But now, I was ready and willing to learn the mysterious art of serving food! Maybe I could go back home and surprise my parents by serving the food in the style of Food Serving Technique Number 69!

* * *

I followed Mauve and Merigold to the kitchen.

Me and Merigold were the two newbies, so Mauve took charge.

"As you can see, today Cherry has made pancakes and bacon for all of us." He started, gesturing to the tall pile of pancakes and the big pan of bacon that Cherry had left.

"This is going to be a dish that requires plates and forks, so Merigold, could you get that for us?" He asked.

Merigold nodded. "Yes, of course." She made her way over to the cabinet that housed all of the plates and grabbed the 19 that we needed. She set the plates down and grabbed 19 forks from the utensil drawer.

"Next, we want to make sure that everyone gets an equal amount of food. Cherry does this part for us, we just have to count everything and distribute it correctly." Mauve continued. "Crimson, could you count for us?"

"Sure." I nodded. I looked at the stack of pancakes and counted out 57 of them, which meant we'd all get 3 pancakes each. I then looked at the pan of bacon and counted out 38 strips, which equated to us each getting 2 strips of bacon. I relayed the info to Mauve.

He nodded. "Good. Now that we have the supplies to serve and know exactly what to serve, we just have to bring it out to everyone." He showed me and Merigold where the serving trays were and then had us set out the plates individually to make it easier to serve the food.

He placed the 3 pancakes on each plate, and then the 2 slices of bacon. When he was done, I loaded the dishes that Cherry used to make the food into something called a 'dishwasher' (I thought that a dishwasher was an actual person who washed the dishes for you, but I guess not), while Merigold and Mauve placed the plates on 3 serving trays.

When they were done, two trays held 6 plates while one tray held 7, along with a container of syrup. Mauve took the tray with 7 plates without complaint, while Merigold and I took the trays with 6 plates.

That was easy enough.

* * *

We all made our way back into the dining room.

Actually serving the food was the hardest part. Mauve was a pro and carried the tray in one hand while serving out the plates to everyone with his other hand. Me and Merigold, however, were much more careful and cautious, so we just placed the tray on the table and let everyone take a plate. Merigold volunteered to bring the trays back to the kitchen, and we all started eating.

I don't know if it was just cause I was super hungry or Cherry was getting better, but the food tasted better than usual today. The pancakes were buttery and soft, like the ones you get from the hotel room service, and the bacon had just the right crunch factor, while not being burnt.

Halfway through eating, however, Sunrise ruined my tranquil eating experience by clearing his throat.

"I have an announcement." He said.

"What?" Royal raised a brow. "You didn't consult me about this."

"I don't need to consult with you on anything, _I'm _the leader, not you." Sunrise snapped.

Royal shut her mouth but didn't look too pleased with her apparent co-leader.

"Anyways, I've decided that Team Escape is going to help out with the party." He revealed.

"Really?" Azure asked in surprise. "I thought you wanted everyone involved with the team-building exercises to deal with that."

"What, you don't want our help?" Sunrise glared.

"No, it's not that." Azure shook his head. "I'm just surprised that you want to help."

"Yeah, well, like I said: I'm not going to a lame-ass party." Sunrise replied.

"What exactly will _you_ be helping with?" Emerald questioned. "We already have all of the planning done already.

"I'm going to spice up the party," Sunrise answered. "Monokuma said that he'd give me some more supplies."

"Monokuma? Supplies?" Rose repeated. "Doesn't sound like a very good idea.."

"Relax, flower girl." Sunrise rolled his eyes. "It's just shit like a music player and a disco ball, not knives and shit. Have you already forgotten all the work I did to board up the equipment room?"

"N-no, I didn't..." Rose said, glancing at the floor.

"Good." Sunrise sneered. "Anyways, Team Escape will set up with you guys tomorrow, so just don't get in our way."

OK, cool, I guess. It was nice that Sunrise was making an effort to make the party better, even if it was a little insulting that he thought our ideas and plans weren't good enough.

With Team Escape now volunteering to be in the dining room, that meant that a good majority of us would be setting up tomorrow. The only ones who weren't going to help set up are Lava, Sage, and Cloud (if he's in control). Of course, Lava, Sage, and Cloud might not have a choice if they're selected as servers or bodyguards.

Tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting.

* * *

After breakfast, Rose and Azure announced that the warm and cool tone color groups would come together today to start the set up for the party.

Today we'd do all of the brute work. Mauve, Silver, and I pushed all of the tables to the sides of the room, two on the right and two on the left.

We then removed all of the dining room chairs and put them into the announcement room, to open up space.

After we were finished with that, Indigo and Emerald placed some table cloths on the table that we found in the kitchen. They were purple, which was apparently Cotton's favorite color.

The next step was to clean. We swept the floors, vacuumed, and even mopped. Not only for Cotton's party but also because the floor in the dining room was getting stained with various dropped foods.

"I made us some coffee to power through this." Frost announced, bringing out a tray of coffee for all of us.

"You're a lifesaver, man!" I smiled, quickly taking a cup. This work was exhausting!

"T-thank you." Indigo said, also taking a cup.

Shortly after Frost brought us coffee, Cherry brought us some Dango that she prepared the day before.

"Just like home." Frost warmly smiled after he took his first bite.

"Yes, it tastes like the place I go to in my home town." Rose remarked.

"It's delicious, Cherry!" Azure beamed.

"Thank you, everyone." Cherry blushed.

We continued cleaning and setting up for a few hours. Most of what we did was placing a lot of the stuff we needed for tomorrow in the announcement room, including the decorations we found in the rec center, some chairs from the computer lab for sitting (look, I know we have the dining room chairs, but the computer lab chairs are comfy as hell!), and a few board games we planned on playing.

Another thing that needed to be done was preparing the drinks for tomorrow. His Royal Highness instructed that alcohol **must **be served at the party.

Poor, innocent, Azure and Rose didn't know what to do. I, having attended many premiere parties and events, had a pretty good idea of what alcohol tasted like...but had no idea how to prepare it or serve it or any of that shit.

Fortunately, Mauve volunteered to make some drinks for us.

"How come you know so much about alcohol, Mauve?" I questioned with a sly smile.

"I'm no expert, but I've picked up a few things from my family's casino business." He explained. "Unfortunately, that means all the drinks I know how to make are American, which kind of conflicts with the Japanese theme of the party."

"No worries." Azure reassured. "I'm sure Cotton won't even be able to have any alcohol in his condition."

"Ouch, that's probably true." I sighed. After a treatment like the one Cotton is going through, alcohol is definitely not the best option for the Ultimate Escapist.

So, it was decided: our Ultimate Dealer was to prepare the drinks for tomorrow. I was looking forward to seeing how Americans drinks were. In Japan, a lot of alcoholic drinks have beer in them, which I'm not a particular fan of. From what I've seen on TV, American drinks are more colorful and sweet, and I'm sure Mauve knew what to do from working in a casino.

Our two bodyguards of the day were Noir and Merigold.

To pass the time, the two were helping out with some things in the kitchen.

"Wow, Cherry prepared a ton of stuff for the party!" Noir remarked, looking in the fridge.

"True," Merigold nodded. "And she still has to make even more things tomorrow!"

We were currently unloading the dishes from the dishwasher and putting them away. Thinking about all of the dishes that Cherry had to make tomorrow made me shudder. I can't imagine what the clean up was going to be like...

* * *

After I was finished with the dishes, I decided that I'd have a little talk with Monokuma. I wanted to make sure of something.

I went into the announcement room and called for the devil.

"Monokuma!" I yelled into the abyss.

He appeared almost immediately.

"Yesss, my dear Crimson?" Monokuma tilted his head to the side.

"I wanted to make sure that tomorrow night, we'd be OK to extend the party after Night Time." I said.

"Hmmm," Monokuma thought, tapping his foot in thought. "Welllll, I don't _recommend_ it, but there is no rule against it, so you can if you want!"

"Why don't you recommend it?" I asked.

"Because Night Time brings out the worst in people!" Monokuma answered. "70% of crimes happen at night, y'know."

"Well, yeah, but that's because it's dark..." I sighed. "Here it's always dark."

"It's not _just _the dark." Monokuma insisted. "It's the atmosphere of Night Time itself!"

"Yeah, well, I have faith no one will give in to your 'motive'." I glared.

"Upupupu, whatever you say..." Monokuma snickered. "_Annyyywayyss, _I have to start the discharge paperwork on Cotton! Toodles!"

And with that, the stuffed anomaly was gone.

I rolled my eyes. _70% of crimes happen at night, huh?_

* * *

It was dinner time, and everyone was sitting on the floor due to the lack of dining chairs.

Dinner tonight was Italian inspired: Pizza.

Mauve, Merigold, and I finished serving the food and sat down with everyone else.

"What're we talking about?" I asked.

"Just how excited we are for tomorrow!" Emerald smiled.

"Yes, it will be nice to have Cotton back..." Indigo commented.

"Maybe he'll be helpful towards our escape mission," Onyx suggested. "He _is _the Ultimate Escapist, after all."

"I'm excited about the party!" Noir cheered. "All of the sweets and treats that Cherry made are going to be _sooo good_!"

Cherry blushed. "They're just some things I picked up on from some of the foods I've critiqued!"

"Don't underestimate yourself, Cherry, I'm sure everyone will love what you've cooked up." Frost said, patting the Ultimate Food Critic on the shoulder.

"I wonder about the design of every dish..." Sage muttered. "Japanese cuisine is beautiful."

"I just hope the party ends early..." Lava commented. "I'm already tired of it and it's not even the day of..."

"Aw, c'mon, it's going to be fun!" Merigold laughed.

"I'm hoping it'll last _all night_." Azure beamed. "I think this is the perfect distraction to take our minds off this situation."

"Yes, that was the intention." Rose agreed. "If all goes well, maybe we can even throw another."

"We'll see about that.." Sunrise mumbled. "This party has been a whole lot of work, it better be good."

"Exactly, I didn't make curlers out of aluminum foil for nothing!" Royal huffed, holding up one of her makeshift curlers. I was honestly impressed with Royal. I guess being the Ultimate Runway Model has its perks when it comes to coming up with ways to look good on the fly.

"Very good, Royal, finding ways to adjust to life on this ship." Silver applauded. "We need to keep ourselves occupied while we're here or we'll go insane!"

"I'm still not sold on the whole 'life on this ship' thing." Mauve frowned. "There's not even a good collection of games here. Where's the roulette table, for example?"

"At least there is a fair amount of magazines in here." Diamond commented. "The photos help inspire me for when we leave this place. I have so many new ideas I can't wait to execute."

"I-I like spending time with you guys..." Cloud (who seemed to take control sometime after the morning meeting) blushed. "I feel like I'm getting c-closer to you all."

"I've also found myself growing closer to you all." Scarlet smiled. "I haven't felt this close to a group of people in a while."

Ah, yes. This is why I can't imagine us _not _leaving this place together. However questionable some of these people may be from time to time, I still have faith that none of us will kill another human being just to help themselves...

Well, thanks to Monokuma's motive, themselves, _and _someone else...

Still, that leaves 18 people that the killer would be leaving behind on the ship, and I just don't see anyone being that cruel. I looked at the faces of my classmates and saw hope. Hope that we'd get out of this situation, hope that we'd make it through, together. It was unusual for me to be so buddy buddy with random strangers who I just met, but in this situation, we're all the only people that we have contact with, so we better buddy up or bad things are sure to happen.

I know Monokuma's motive was made to mess with us. He sees how we're getting closer, and is using that to his advantage. But he forgets that we're not all getting close to just one person. We're getting close to _each other_. We're having late-night conversations that extend into the day, we're playing charades (in which I totally dominate the competition), solving mysteries, cleaning, and cooking, _together_.

Monokuma can't do anything to break our friendships!

Little did I know however, that it wasn't Monokuma who was going to be the disruptor of the peace...

* * *

"Day 8, hell yeah!" I yelled as soon as Monokuma's morning announcement woke me up.

It was a long night last night. A lot of us stayed in the dining room, just talking about nonsense. I went to sleep around 11 PM, a whole hour after the Night Time announcement.

I was a little tired this morning, but my adrenaline quickly kicked in once I remembered what day it was:

"Party day!" I grinned.

I have been waiting for this day ever since Azure and Rose announced their plans. I was ready to have some fun and let loose for once. Plus, not gonna lie, I was looking forward to some drunken party gaming.

I took my time getting ready this morning, wanting to look good. I know that there's no camera for us to use, but it made me feel better about the fact that I've worn the same thing since I've been here.

I made my way out of the room and immediately headed towards the dining room.

"Right on time, Crimson!" Cherry smiled. "I was just about to pick the servers and bodyguards for the day."

Everyone was standing around, leaning against the tables or the wall. I could tell people were a little anxious about the server/bodyguard picking today. Those who were servers would have to deal with setting up the food and drinks for the party instead of getting to decorate and do some of the 'funner' setting up. Those stuck on bodyguard duty were confined to the kitchen until the party started.

"Sage," Cherry read, for the servers.

Sage didn't seem to care and simply nodded.

"Scarlet," Cherry continued.

Scarlet smiled. "No problem, I'm not that good at decorating anyways."

"And..."

We all waited in anticipation.

I know _I _was safe, but I still felt a little anxious as to who the last server was going to be.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Azure!" Cherry finished.

The Cryptid Enthusiast shrugged and laughed. "No biggie, I was prepared to help with anything as long as it involved setting up!"

So, Sage, Scarlet, and Azure were our 'unlucky' servers for the night.

Honestly, they didn't have it all that bad, they still got to enjoy the party.

"Next, the bodyguards," Cherry said, pulling out the separate cup.

"Diamond," Cherry read.

Diamond nodded. "It is alright with me."

"And Cloud/Shadow!" Cherry finished.

Unfortunately, it seems like Shadow is in control this morning. "Fuck me..." He muttered, but didn't visibly protest.

With all the boring stuff out of the way, we commenced breakfast. Today, due to all the food we were going to consume tonight, Cherry made a simple breakfast of...cereal.

After the food was served, we ate. So far, it was the worst breakfast I'd had here, but it still wasn't terrible.

Besides, the food we were going to feast on tonight made this subpar breakfast worth it.

* * *

We finished eating, and those who wanted to stayed behind and started the preparation of the party.

Just as I was going to join in, Sunrise approached me.

"Crimson." He called, beckoning me over to join him in a corner of the room.

I sighed, but did as I was told. "Yes?"

"Monokuma left me a note on my desk." He said, pulling out a piece of paper from his jacket. He handed it to me.

_Cotton will be released into your custody at 10 AM. Please come collect him from the stairway in the announcement room. _

It was already almost 10 AM.

"OK...why are you telling me?" I asked. I knew why Monokuma gave Sunrise the note, considering he was the leader and all, but why do I need to know?

Sunrise crossed his arms. "Because, I want you to watch over him."

_What?!_

"What?!" I asked in surprise. "Why me?"

Sunrise shrugged. "You were the first one to take care of him when he was injected with Despisocide, so I figured you'd be the best choice to take care of him after the treatment he's gone through."

_"Um, as I was saying," Cotton continued, projecting his voice louder. "My name is Takum-"_

_**BEEEEEP**_

_There was one final beep before Cotton's voice stopped. He looked at us with wide eyes._

_"C-Cotton?" I called, honestly a little scared. "Are you OK, man?"_

_He said nothing but slowly fell to the ground. Then, his mouth fell open and dark, crimson red blood started to pour out like some kind of waterfall from hell._

_"AHHHH!" Someone screamed. Then more of us started to scream, yell, and even cry at the bloody sight. Overall, it was pretty clear that everyone was shocked and in disbelief at what just happened._

_Being in the first row, I felt obligated to check on him. I quickly rushed to his side and knelt down. "Cotton! Tell me what's wrong?!"_

Ah, shit, that's right. Who knew being a good samaritan would come back to bite me in the ass later?

It's not that I hated the idea of taking care of Cotton, it was just the fact that I wanted to do other stuff.

But, Sunrise gave me an order and thanks to good old rule number eight, I was forced to obey him.

_"Rule number eight," Sunrise read from his e-Handbook. "Any student who Pilot Monokuma deems fit to be 'leader of the kidnapees' may order the students around to do as he/she pleases, as long as their request is nothing too extreme (any dispute by a student will be decided by Pilot Monokuma)."_

"Fine." I nodded. "I'll do it."

Sunrise smirked and patted me on the shoulder, a little too roughly. "I knew I could count on you." He said in a sarcastic tone.

I rolled my eyes and made my way over to the announcement room.

* * *

It only took a few minutes for Monokuma to meet me. He had raised the gate to the staircase _just _enough so that he could fit, and once he passed it, it immediately closed.

I jumped in surprise when I saw Cotton.

He was unconscious, being carried in Monokuma's arms. He looked paler, skinnier, and a little less bright. He was also wearing a hospital gown, rather than his usual outfit.

Monokuma did not look too happy upon seeing me. "What are _you _doing here?!" He asked in an angry tone.

"Sunrise sent me." I explained, flashing the note.

"Grr, I told him to come to pick up Cotton candy himself!" Monokuma growled. He then sighed. "Oh well, not my problem anymore!"

The bear then walked over to me and shoved Cotton into my arms. "There ya go, buddy ol pal. He just needs to rest for a little while more, and then he'll be A-ok to party."

"He doesn't need any medications or anything?" I asked.

Monokuma shook his head. "Nope! Simply put him to bed and make sure he doesn't do anything crazy."

I sighed, looking at Cotton's sleeping face. I wonder how much pain he had to endure during his treatment...

"Anyyyways, since I am now free of Cotton ball, I'm going to rest!" Monokuma announced. "The stress of taking care of another human being's life is wayyy to much. I was _this _close to just injecting him with more Despiscocide and calling it a day!"

I glared. "Did I ask?"

Monokuma pouted and he turned his back to me. "I don't need your attitude, Crimson! I'm running away and never coming back!"

And with that, he was gone.

I sighed in relief. The announcement room was quiet once more, sans the sound of Cotton's breathing.

I sadly frowned as I looked at him. He might've been stupidly impulsive for trying to say his name, but he didn't deserve what happened to him.

I took a deep breath before walking through the dining room door.

* * *

"Cotton!" Noir gasped when I entered. She was apart of Team Escape, and was currently picking songs to play during the party.

I put a finger up to my lips. "Shhh, he needs to rest."

Noir nodded. "Sure!"

"I can't believe he's finally back," Emerald remarked. "It's been forever."

"He looks terrible," Royal said. "Are we sure Monokuma actually helped him and didn't just give more Despisocide...?"

"All twenty of us back together again." Azure beamed. "I can't wait for Cotton to see the party we've planned for him."

"I hope he'll like it." Rose blushed.

"I'm sure he will." I nodded. "But for now, I have to put him to bed. He needs rest before we do any kind of partying."

I looked at Sunrise from the corner of my eye, and saw him nod.

Cotton's room was the same as mine and everyone else's, but with sheets and decor colored an off white color rather than my grey. I guess it was because Cotton's room was themed around 'the Moon'.

I set Cotton down on his bed, and looked around his room. There was a bag on top of his desk.

Inside was his bloodied clothes. I almost dropped them in disgust but then took a look at his sorrowful sleeping expression.

I had to do something...

* * *

Not gonna lie, I haven't used the laundry room yet. With three pairs of clothes, so far I've just been rotating them.

"Hmm, now how the hell does this work..." I muttered, turning the knobs of the washing machine.

I knew what a washer and dryer was...

And what they could do...

_Buuttt, _I don't really know how to use them.

I helplessly fiddled with the knobs and controls for a depressing few minutes, until I heard the door open. I turned my head and spotted a familiar ginger entering the room.

"Ah, my dear, sweet, privileged Crimson." Royal smirked, walking up to me. "Having a little trouble?"

I groaned. "What do you want, Royal? You're not going to be of any help, anyway."

Royal scoffed. "How very presumptuous." She then sauntered over to the laundry machine, and did something I never thought I'd see in a million years: laundry.

First, she took the white powder that me and Azure were weirded out about when we first investigated the laundry room, and poured it into the washer. "_This _is laundry detergent. It's definitely a poor quality, is probably lethal upon ingestion and _not _the type my family uses, but it's the only thing the vile Monokuma provided us with."

Next, she turned a knob on the washer that caused water to start pouring in. "Wow." I said.

Finally, she closed the washer door'. "There, you're welcome."

"Thanks..." I muttered. "...Tell me, Royal, how do you of all people know how to do laundry?"

Royal shrugged her shoulders. "It's a basic human skill, Crimson. I'm surprised your parents never bothered to teach you."

"T-that's..." I said, blushing. "They just never had the opportunity to before they started hiring people to do it for us..."

"O-oh, of course." Royal quickly nodded, sounding slightly flustered. "Yes, my family also has servants who do our laundry for us, I just took it upon my self to learn how to do laundry to expand upon my _many _skills and talents."

"OK, sure..." I replied, raising a brow. "Anyways, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping set up for the party?"

"And shouldn't _you _be watching over Cotton?" Royal answered with a smirk.

"He's resting in his room, I'm just doing his laundry for him so he doesn't wake up to a bloody mess." I frowned.

"And _I'm _just taking a break from setting up," Royal sneered. "I've been doing so much work that I deserve it."

I rolled my eyes. "...Tell me, Royal. You're a bitc-...bit on the rude side towards everyone else, so why do you treat me differently?"

Royal thought for a moment before turning her back to me. "Because, you're a somebody. Not a nobody like the rest of the good-for-nothing idiots here. Besides, we celebrities should stick together, some of these commoners might try to take advantage of you."

And with that, she sassily sauntered away.

I narrowed my eyes.

What a bitch.

* * *

The dryer was much easier to handle than the washer, so I dried Cotton's clothes in record time.

Bringing them back with me to the bedroom hallway, I grasped the doorknob of Cotton's room door, and turned.

And what awaited me was a sight I thought I'd never see.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

(Remember, actors can't resist a good dramatic pause!)

Cotton was standing in front of his dresser, smoothing over his shirt.

He had apparently taken a shower by himself and gotten dressed in one of the extra pairs of outfits we were all provided with.

I almost dropped his clothes in shock. "C-Cotton, you're-"

"Alive?" He asked, turning towards me with a smile.

"Well, obviously." I laughed. "I'm just surprised you're standing. Monokuma told me you needed rest."

"Psh, who needs rest!" Cotton waved his hand in front of him while laughing. "I'm fine! I've been couped up in a room for what feels like forever, I didn't want to spend even more time resting."

As he spoke, I noticed dark bags under his eyes and the fact that the veins on his neck seemed to be more prominent than usual, a sign of weight loss.

Poor guy.

"OK, if that's what you want." I nodded. "Though I have specific instructions to keep you out of the dining room."

Cotton raised a brow. "Really? Why?"

I thought for a moment before conjuring up a few tears. "It's stupid Monokuma, man..." I sniffed. "He destroyed the place in a fit of rage...There's debris everywhere., a-and I don't want you to get hurt."

Cotton's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. "OK, OK, no problem! We can do something else, then!"

I sniffed again, wiping away my tears. "Thanks, man. Sorry for the crying, it's just been a stressful couple of days and we're glad to have you back."

Cotton smiled. "I'm glad to back."

* * *

Cotton decided on taking a walk around the rec center.

We entered, and thankfully no one was there to bother us.

"Hm, it looks a little different than I remember." Cotton noted, running his hands along the books on the bookshelf.

"Yeah, we did a little rearranging," I said. "We were just bored and figured it'd take our minds off things."

Cotton nodded. "I see. I wish I could've helped..." He sighed.

I looked at him and sadly frowned. I could tell that missing a week of bonding time with us definitely affected him.

"Well don't worry, there's plenty of stuff to do once we fix up the dining room." I claimed. "We can play games with everyone, or I dunno, maybe even start a book club?"

Cotton's face lit up. "Yeah...Yeah, I'd like that!"

I showed him around the rec center a little more, before deciding to ask him the question that's been plauging my mind since Day 1.

"Cotton..." I started. "If you don't mind me asking, why'd you want to tell us your name so bad?"

I just couldn't see why someone as smart and logical as Cotton would think that blatantly defying the one rule we were given at the time was a good idea. Of course, I doubted that he knew he'd almost die, but still, the word punishment definitely didn't suggest anything positive.

Cotton narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Y'know, people think I'm super smart and stuff just because I know how to solve a Rubik's cube in 6 seconds, but I'm just like everyone else. And just like everyone else, I hate being told what to do, especially if it's not allowing me to be myself."

"I can be a little impulsive when I panic." He continued with a laugh. "I wasn't totally thinking things through when I blurted out my name..."

"I understand." I nodded. "This situation totally blows, and having weird, dumb rules to follow definitely doesn't help. But I just think it's better to be safe than sorry, y'know? And now that you know what Monokuma's 'punishment' is, I hope you won't try breaking a rule again."

Cotton nodded. "Yeah, I definitely don't want to wind up back in the infirmary again. Monokuma did nothing but talk nonsense and yell at me..."

"The infirmary?" I repeated. "So if we get injured we can get taken care of there?"

"Yeah." Cotton said. "My memory of being brought up there is a little hazy, but I'm pretty sure we only had to go up one flight of stairs, which means it's on the second floor."

"Well, not like we can go see it." I sighed. "There's the huge gate in the way, after all."

Cotton bit his lip. "Hm, I wonder if there's a way to get it open..."

"_Cotton_..." I sighed, giving him my best 'disappointed father' expression. "Don't think of trying anything!"

Cotton sheepishly smiled. "Never, I promise!"

* * *

Cotton said he was getting hungry, so I volunteered to get him food from the kitchen.

Inside the dining room, things were looking pretty good. The servers even started to bring the food out.

"Crimson, could you do me a favor?" Scarlet asked as soon as I walked in. She looked pretty tired, which was understandable. It looks like Sunrise was working the servers and the others who were setting up the party to the bone. Meanwhile, he was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed.

"Of course, what do you need?" I nodded.

"I've been trying to find time to use the bathroom for a while now, but _Sunrise _keeps telling me to wait every time I ask him..." Scarlet frowned.

I gulped. "Scarlet...I would definitely help you out if I could, but if Sunrise told you that you couldn't use the bathroom yet, there's nothing you and I can do, because of rule number eight..."

Scarlet's eyes widened and her face turned red with anger. "That _roach_!" She said. Then, she quickly stomped over to Sunrise and hit his shoulder. "Wake up!"

Everyone in the dining room started to quiet down when they noticed the scene.

Sunrise opened his eyes and he instantly glared at Scarlet. "What do you want? You should be working, not fooling around."

"I have been working," Scarlet yelled. "We _all _have. Meanwhile, you've been sitting down doing nothing but barking orders!"

Sunrise rolled his eyes. "I've been doing nothing but barking orders, huh? I guess personally getting all these supplies doesn't count as something..." He said, gesturing to all the supplies Monokuma had given him.

"Oh, please," Scarlet scoffed. "That took five seconds. We've been setting up for _hours_. We deserve a break!"

Sunrise stood up and faced Scarlet, his face inches from hers. "If you want a break, then fine. Be my guest."

Scarlet glared at Sunrise for a few seconds more before she turned away and stormed out of the dining room.

I frowned as Sunrise smirked. "That girl's feisty, huh?" He asked me.

"_That girl's_ gonna kick your ass if you keep acting like a dick." I said.

"Tch, fuck you." Sunrise scoffed.

Mauve then appeared from the kitchen, and started walking towards the door leading out of the dining room.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sunrise asked.

"I also need a break." Mauve answered plainly. "Is there a problem?"

"Do whatever the hell you want." Sunrise said, closing his eyes again.

Mauve left, doing just that.

I had already wasted enough time dealing with Sunrise, so I quickly made my way into the kitchen.

* * *

You'll imagine my surprise when I saw Diamond standing next to Cloud/Shadow, who was currently laying on the floor with his eyes closed.

"Uhhh, what happened here?" I asked.

Diamond shook her head. "I don't know exactly. He's done this two times already, and both times he's awoken as the personality that he wasn't before. It only lasts a minute or two."

"Ah, so I guess that's how he switches." I nodded.

"Yes, it seems that way." Diamond agreed. "It is a bit distressing for me, considering Shadow and Cloud aren't exactly ideal bodyguards."

I chuckled. "Sounds about right. Shadow's annoying and Cloud's a little on the meeker side of things."

Just then, Cloud/Shadow's eyes blinked opened. "S-sorry, Diamond...I did it again didn't I..."

It looks like Cloud's in control. I helped him up.

"It's not a problem, Cloud..." Diamond sighed. "I'd just prefer if you could try and keep Shadow suppressed for the rest of our shift today."

"I-I'll try my best." The occultist nodded.

I left Diamond and Cloud to do their job, and grabbed Cotton a sandwich from the fridge.

* * *

"Sorry it took a while." I apologized, taking a seat across from Cotton in the rec center.

"No worries." Cotton reassured, setting down the book he was reading. "I'm not that hungry, anyway."

I watched Cotton as he took his sandwich and started eating.

While he did so, I thought back to a certain memory, that Cotton reminded me of.

_"Mr. Morine, you need to learn how to eat with more dignity." My butler, Hachiro, chastised. _

_"Dignity?" I repeated, my mouth still full of food. "What's that?"_

_"The act of being composed and serious, my boy." Hachiro sighed. "An example would include __**not **__talking with your mouth full..."_

_I grinned. "Mama and papa never seem to mind!"_

_"That is because they are also not used to behaving in a dignified manner." Hachiro claimed. "Mr. Morine, you have to realize, your family is coming into a great deal of money with the work you are now doing. More money then they've ever had before. There are certain...changes you may need to make in order to become accustomed to this new lifestyle."_

_"Changes?" I said. "Like what?"_

_"Well, my boy, you'll need to promote a better image of yourself." Hachiro explained. "You should always be dressed neatly and cleanly, in case your fans may see you in public. You'll also need to do good in school, so you can continue your work with little problems."_

_I frowned. "That sounds like a lot of work...I just want to play games and hang out with my friends..."_

_Hachiro chuckled. "Do not worry, my boy. We've hired many people to help you with these new changes. Plus, you'll still have time to do all the things you love after you've completed your duties for the day."_

_"Do I still have to wash dishes?" I asked. _

_Hachiro shook his head. "Never again. You'll have dishwashers who do that for you."_

"Um, is something wrong, Crimson?" Cotton said, looking at me looking at him.

I chuckled, narrowing my eyes. "Nothing...maybe just eat with a little more dignity, my friend..."

* * *

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Certain locations will now be locked for the remainder of the night. Sweet dreams my passengers, let the sparkle of the stars and the roar of the spaceships's engine lull you into a deeeepppp sleep. Gooood niighhttt!"

I couldn't believe it was finally time. I was currently sitting with Cotton in his room, watching him as he took a nap.

I smiled. Little did he know, he was about to have the time of his life.

I felt a little bad waking him up, especially since he was supposed to be getting rest, but it must be done. We've planned this party for him, after all!

"Cotton." I called, shaking him a little.

"_Cotton_." I said again. He still didn't stir.

I sighed, resorting to my last resort, the absolute worst resort. I went over to the sink in the bathroom, formed a puddle of liquid in my hands, and slowly poured it onto Cotton's face.

"W-wha..." He murmured, slowly blinking his eyes open. "Crimson...what's going on?"

"I need to show you something." I said.

"Can it wait until morning...?" Cotton groaned.

"No, sorry, buddy." I smiled. "It's happening right now."

Cotton slowly stood up from his bed. I took the liberty of freshening him up a little bit (with the claim that I wanted him to look and feel good when he saw 'the thing'), and led him out the door.

* * *

We walked through the hallway, into the next one, and finally in front of the dining room door.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to go inside." Cotton said, raising a brow.

"I decided it was OK for you to enter." I grinned. "Besides, you'll want to see this."

I slowly opened the door of the dining room. Yes! They remembered to turn the lights off.

"Um, it's a little dark." Cotton nervously laughed.

"Don't worry." I said. "Everything's OK."

3...

2...

1...

"Surprise!" The lights came on, and everyone jumped out from their hiding spaces.

Cotton's eyes instantly widened in awe as he looked around. "W-what's all this?!"

"It's for you." Rose smiled, approaching Cotton and I. "Your welcome back party!"

Cotton looked at her in disbelief. "You guys did all of this...for me?"

"Yup!" Azure beamed. "We wanted to celebrate your return!"

"And to the fact that you're alive and well!" Noir cheered.

"Thank you!" Cotton smiled, looking at everyone. "Thank you all so much!"

"You're more than welcome." I said, patting him on the back. "Now, let's party!"

I spent the beginning of the party catching Cotton up on everything that's been going on since he's been in treatment.

"Sunrise?" Cotton raised a brow. "_He's_ the leader?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, I know..."

Then, Mauve started walking around, handing drinks to everyone.

"God damn, this peach bellini is good!" Sunrise smirked.

"This one's also quite delicious." Diamond nodded. "A bloody mary, correct?"

"I've always wanted to try a margarita!" Noir admitted. "It looks _so _sweet!"

"Ooo, a cherry bomb!" Cherry said in awe. "I've seen these on TV before!"

"Don't drink too much." Frost advised, while he ironically gulped down an espresso martini.

"I made this one a virgin." Mauve said, handing Cotton a pink-colored drink in a wine glass.

"Thanks!" Cotton nodded.

I took a red-colored drink with a strawberry in it. I took a sip...

And loved every second that it was in my mouth. "Damn, Mauve! This tastes like heaven!"

Mauve ever so slightly smiled. "It's nothing special, just a strawberry daiquiri."

"Well whatever it is, I'll take another one later." I laughed.

We all drunk a little bit, and then decided to start eating.

Our servers prepared everything in a buffet style so they could enjoy the party.

"It was kind of a lot of work," Azure laughed. "But it was worth it. Now, we get to enjoy the party rather than having to spend it serving."

"Yes, it was a good idea, Azure." Scarlet nodded with a smile.

Sage said nothing. He was currently sipping on a drink while drawing in his notebook. I squinted my eyes to see the drawing better. It appeared that he had started to color it.

I took a plate of all of the classics Cherry had prepared. Makizushi, onigiri, soba, sashimi, and tonkatsu.

My eyes watered as soon as I took a bite. "Cherry...this is so good!" It was like tasting the food of the Gods. If I closed my eyes, I could picture myself eating this in a five-star restaurant, or at a fancy gala.

"Yes, I could definitely market a frozen dinner version of these!" Onyx quickly nodded. "Yes! With the rise of divorce in countries like the U.S., this is going to be a hit!"

"Thank you, everyone." Cherry smiled. "I couldn't have done it without, Frost's help, though!"

Frost blushed for the 100th time since Cherry started complimenting him. "N-no, it was all you, Cherry! I didn't do anything but make you coffee to fuel your work ethic!"

Cherry shook her head. "Not true! If it wasn't for you, I would've been bored out of my mind while making the food, which definitely would've affected the quality of the food, so-"

The two then continued to ramble on and on, complimenting each other.

"Wow, Royal, you look good tonight," I turned to see Sunrise gawking at Royal. As far as I could tell, she looked the same as usual, just with her hair slightly more curled.

"Haha, of course!" Royal smirked, whipping her hair back. "I'm the one and only M-...Royal! No other girl, boy, or plane can come close to looking as _~fabulous~ _as me."

"I wouldn't go that far." Sunrise said, his smiling dropping. "After all, _I _exist."

"You? Are more fabulous than me?" Royal laughed. "That's the biggest lie I've ever heard! And I once heard Sayaka Maizono say that her hair was a natural color."

Their argument continued on for quite some time.

"Wow!" Indigo exclaimed. "I feel like I can do anything!"

"Like this?" Noir asked, doing a cartwheel. "Or like this?" She asked again, doing a backflip.

"No, like this!" Indigo beamed, jumping from one chair to the next. The chair that she jumped on then started to roll towards the door, so she jumped into the air. Once it hit the door, it started to roll the other way. Once it went under her again, she managed to land on it!

"Woo-hoo!" Merigold cheered, clapping excitedly. "_Gute Arbeit gut gemacht_!"

"So beautiful," Emerald sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye. "I've never seen a performance full of so much emotion!"

"Me neither..." Lava nodded. "But I don't know why you guys are making such a big deal out of it..."

"For the _**LAST **_time, Rose, I don't cheat at cards!" Mauve yelled, crossing his arms as he glared at the Ultimate Prodigy.

"Yes. You. Do!" Rose insisted, stomping her foot around as if she was having a tantrum. "There's no way I'd lose! Which means, you cheated!"

"I'm the Ultimate Dealer, I know anything and everything there is to know about every card game!" Mauve groaned.

"Well I'm the Ultimate Prodigy, which means I know anything and everything there is to know about _**everything**_!" Rose yelled back.

"Mauvey, his _~royal highness~ _wants an extra drink..." Scarlet grumbled, glaring at Sunrise who was still arguing with Royal.

"Why can't he make it himself?" Mauve huffed, taking a break from serving to prepare more drinks.

"Because he's a lazy asshole!" Scarlet answered, helping Mauve out.

"No kidding!" Merigold laughed, walking by. "That guy's so lazy!"

"Merigold, you're supposed to be helping us serve." Scarlet sighed.

"Gotta run!" Merigold continued to laugh, going in the direction of our mini dance floor.

"I can help..." Azure announced, slowly trudging towards the two.

Scarlet and Mauve looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"You seem a little bit out if it, young boy." Mauve frowned.

"Yeah, we are too, but you're like, _really _hammered." Scarlet nodded. "Go see what Crimson's up to, he always seems to cheer you up like he does with me!"

"I don't want to, that guys a meanie!" Azure claimed.

Mauve sighed, stepping out from behind the 'bar making' table and pulling Azure by the hand towards me.

"Here, talk to him and resolve your issues." Mauve said, going back to the table.

"Crimson..." Azure called, tugging at my shirt. I turned around to see him with a sad face, his hand holding a drink. "I don't know how much more I can take..."

"Uhhhhhhhhhh, how much more of what?" I questioned.

"You!" Azure sniffed. "You remind me of the first cryptid that I discovered, but who ran away from me..."

I scoffed. "I don't look like a cryptid! I'm a real boy!"

"Are you sure?" Azure frowned. "Your hairs kinda crazy...Plus you have red eyes! Are you sure that you're not just a cryptid _acting _like a human?"

"You have red eyes, too!" I argued.

* * *

"And now, for the long-awaited, trivia contest!" Silver smiled. We were all split up into teams of four, three with five people and one team with four people.

**Team 1** (Celebrities Plus Rose)

_Captain_: Royal

Sunrise

Crimson

Diamond

Rose

**Team 2** (Cool Guys)

_Captain_: Onyx

Mauve

Cloud

Sage

Frost

**Team 3 **(Smarties)

_Captain_: Merigold

Emerald

Cherry

Azure

Lava

**Team 4 **(The Underdogs)

_Captain_: Noir

Scarlet

Indigo

Cotton

We were to each have a turn to answer the question and represent our team. The captains were originally responsible for picking the teams, and are also in charge of answering the first question.

"Firsssttt question!" Silver announced.

"Ooo, ooo, I know this one!" Rose insisted with a smile.

"He didn't even read it yet..." Sage muttered.

"_And _it's not your turn..." Lava added.

"_**What is the solution to the equation: 13 x 97**_?" Silver asked.

The team captains instantly started working it out on a piece of paper.

"No, Royal, you have to carry the 1!" I yelled.

"He said 13, not 14, Onyx!" Frost groaned.

"Is math the same in other languages?" Cherry wondered aloud.

"It's multiplication, not addition, Noir..." Cotton sighed.

"Times up!" Silver announced. "Please hold up your papers in three...two...one!"

_**Royal**_: 261

_**Onyx**_: 1,358

_**Merigold**_: 1,261

_**Noir**_: 110

"Merigold wins!" Silver announced.

"Damn it!" Onyx complained. "I was sure I had it in the bag..."

"Next question!" Silver said. "_**What is the capital of Australia**_?"

"Piece of cake," Sunrise grinned. "I've flown there a million times!"

"You flew a plane to Australia?" I asked in surprise.

Sunrise glared at me. "No, _on _a plane..."

"This is child's play." Mauve smirked. "We learn about _all _the capitals back home in the USA."

"Way too easy!" Emerald claimed.

"I think this is right?" Scarlet said, sounding unsure of herself.

"Time's up!" Silver announced. "Answers please!"

_**Sunrise**_: Canberra

_**Mauve**_: Sydney

_**Emerald**_: Canberra

_**Scarlet**_: Melbourne

"Sunrise and Emerald win!" Silver said.

"What the hell is a Canberra?!" Onyx yelled in frustration.

"W-what?!" Mauve exclaimed. "It's Sydney! I know it's Sydney!"

"Nnneexxttt question!" Silver announced. "_**Fill in the blank: _ the Great**_. _**Hint: This former ruler was born in Pella and died in Babylon**_."

"I actually know this one!" I smiled. "I auditioned to play him in an American movie! But they went with an American instead..."

"W-what is Pella and Babylon?" Cloud sniffed. "S-sorry guys, but I don't know..."

"Um, funny story guys, but I didn't really pay attention in history class..." Cherry nervously laughed.

"They never teach us anything but Russian rulers in Russia..." Indigo frowned. "_Ne chestno..._"

"Time!" Silver yelled.

_**Crimson**_: Alexander

_**Cloud**_: Satan

_**Cherry**_: Gordan Ramsay

_**Indigo**_: Vladimir

"Crimson wins!" Silver cheered.

"Haha, of course I do." I smirked.

"Don't get cocky!" Azure huffed. "I'm up next, and I've learned a lot of random information in my lifetime!"

"Next question," Silver said. "_**What is unique about the sentence: Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow**_?"

Diamond looked at us with shock. "I...don't know this!"

"Hmph, easy." Sage said, ever so slightly smiling.

Azure was crying. "Why...why did I get this question?"

"Uh, maybe it's this?" Cotton said, writing on the paper with uncertainty.

_**Diamond**_: Quartz is not usually black.

_**Sage**_: Contains all the letters in the English alphabet.

_**Azure**_: :(

_**Cotton**_: Has every letter in the English alphabet.

"Sage and Cotton win!" Silver said.

"Diamond, you're the only one who speaks English fluently, how did you get this wrong?!" Royal yelled.

"I have put shame on my family name..." Diamond sniffed. "Don't worry, I'll leave in the morning and you'll never have to see me again..."

"Last question, folks!" Silver smiled. "_**What is the third sign of the Zodiac**_?"

"Yay, an easy one!" Rose beamed.

"Oh Coffee Gods, I pray that this is right." Frost said, kissing his paper for good luck.

"I can't remember..." Lava mumbled.

"Somehow I know this one!" Noir smiled.

"Answers please!" Silver yelled.

_**Rose**_: Leo

_**Frost**_: Gemini

_**Lava**_: Aquarius

_**Noir**_: Gemini

"Oops!" Rose giggled. "I thought he said 5!"

"Sorry, I don't really care about any of that stuff..." Lava sighed.

"Wait, no!" Royal said in horror. "That means-"

"All four teams are tied! We're all winners!" Silver announced, taking a drink from one of the table and toasting it.

"NO!" Onyx protested. "We're all _losers_!"

"This blows..." Emerald sniffed. "I wanted our team to win..."

"Do we still get a prize?" Noir asked Silver, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Silver chuckled. "Yes, yes. of course. I just need to get it from the announcement room."

Silver went towards the announcement room to fetch our prize, and we were left to converse amongst ourselves. All of our conversation was normal and light hearted like it had been for the duration of the night, until I heard a yell.

"You _reckless imbecile_!" I heard Sage scream. He was looking at Sunrise with rage.

"What's your problem?" Sunrise scoffed. "You tryna start something with me?"

"You got your filthy peach bellini on my book." Sage glared. I noticed his fist was clenched and his face was red with fury. "Watch where you're going, you fool!"

"You don't tell me what to do!" Sunrise screamed back. "I'm the leader, not you!"

"Then maybe you shouldn't be the leader, anymore." Sage yelled. "It's almost a week since you've made yourself leader. I think it's almost time for impeachment!"

Sunrise rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, I'll just get to Monokuma before you do and make myself leader for another week. And then a week after that. And a week after that. A week afte-"

Sage pushed Sunrise, to which _everyone _stopped talking, watching the scene with wide eyes. "...If you refuse to be impeached, then perhaps assassination is a better route."

Sunrise's eyes widened. You could tell he was seething with anger and rage.

Sunrise raised his fist, and he quickly moved it towards Sage's face until...

"AHHHHHH!" Someone screamed.

Sunrise quickly dropped his fist as everyone turned their attention to the announcement room door, which is where the scream came from.

"What's going on?" Scarlet frowned.

"Let's go." Sunrise ordered, walking away from Sage and moving towards the door. We all followed him.

He gripped the handle of the door, and quickly opened it.

* * *

I wish he had been slower...

It wouldn't have changed much, but maybe I could've been more prepared...

For the sight that awaited me.

**Royal, the Ultimate Runway Model**.

She was...standing.

Standing over something I recognized...

_Someone _I recognized.

That I wished I didn't...

Because...

B-because...

It was the **Ultimate TV Host, Silver**.

The man who had just entertained us all with his trivia game.

And from the blank expression on his face...

The pool of blood dripping out of his mouth...

And the shards of glass next to him...

I could tell he was dead.

Kill if you want to leave. That's the only way out of here.

I thought we were all on the same page.

I thought none of us would resort to murder.

Clearly, I was wrong...

* * *

_A/N_: **Rest in peace, Silver! Thank you to his creator, Deathtobuttersauce, for contributing his character! I loved the mystery he brought to the story due to how his attitude about the killing game was a little different than everyone else's, and I enjoyed every time he interacted with a character. **

**So, the Ultimate TV Host bites the dust! Who is to blame? **

**I think I did a decent job on making sure the killer wasn't obvious, but maybe some of you can deduce who it is. If so, please definitely let me know your theory!**

**Thank you guys for reading! Next time, we'll learn more about Silver's death and start the investigation!**


	12. The Fool and Her Groom (Part 6)

The Fool and Her Groom (Part 6) (_**Deadly Life**_)

* * *

_"Ah, excellent! Then you must have heard or seen of me once or twice," He claimed. "My codename here is Silver, a shade of grey, and I'm the Ultimate Television Host!"_

Silver...

_"Ah, of course, I do not love the fact that we're kidnapped. I especially missed my family last night, thinking about how we all say good night to each other before any of us go to bed," Silver clarified. "However, I choose to see the bright side of our situation. Negativity wouldn't do us any good, yes?"_

Why...

_Silver thought for a moment before smiling. "It is a simple story. One way or another, I ended up working as an intern for a popular TV show. Then, I worked my way up and became a TV host. Due to all my accomplishments, I was recognized as the Ultimate TV Host. Anyways, it is not I that I wish to talk about. Would you mind telling me some things about yourself, Mr. Crimson?"_

Who did this to you?

_Silver applauded. "We need to keep ourselves occupied while we're here or we'll go insane!"_

How could they do this to you?!

We were all supposed to make it out together.

But someone was selfish and decided that their life was more valuable than yours.

So they killed you.

And now they'd get to leave...

All of us alone...

The Ultimate TV Host was killed, by someone who couldn't resist Monokuma's motives. He was having such a good time here, he was by far the one who was the most ready and willing to stay here forever. He entertained us all with his 'Trivia Game Night' and we were even talking about holding another one.

But now there was no way that could ever happen...

"A body has been discovered! Please gather in the **announcement room **ASAP!" Monokuma's voice sounded over the loudspeaker.

No need to gather anywhere, we were all already here.

And we were all feeling the effects of Silver's death.

"N-no..." Rose cried, her hands shakily covering her mouth.

"AHHHH!" Cloud screamed, his eyes wide with fear and his mouth agape in horror.

"Silver!" Scarlet exclaimed, tears falling from her eyes.

"Why..." Azure whispered. "Why did this happen..."

Sunrise was speechless, and did nothing but stare at the body of the Ultimate TV Host with wide eyes, probably the most vulnerable I've seen the Ultimate PIlot.

"No..." Noir sniffed. "It can't be..."

"This is terrible!" Cherry cried. "Poor Silver!"

"Please, look away, Cherry." Frost advised, looking rather sick but still worrying more about Cherry than himself.

Indigo couldn't get out any words, as she was quietly sobbing, her face buried in her hands.

"Rest easy, Silver..." Onyx sighed, glancing away from the body.

Sage said nothing but closed his eyes, turning his head away.

Diamond shook her head, seemingly disappointed with the killer.

Cotton looked sick to his stomach as he looked at Silver.

Royal had moved away from the body, and was now glancing at the floor with a hint of disgust on her face.

"I'm sorry, Silver..." Mauve said. "I couldn't protect you..."

"Who could do this..." Emerald frowned, a tear falling from her eye. "Whoever did this is a monster!"

Lava sighed as she saw Silver's body. "I'm not surprised, but disappointed..."

"_Quelle horreur_..." Merigold whispered, closing her eyes and shaking her head.

All of the happy and drunken emotions we had felt from the alcohol were long gone. They were replaced with feelings of sadness, of dread, of despair.

And they were about to get worse.

The vile Monokuma appeared next to Silver with a gleeful expression.

"Upupupupupu...Looks like someone was going stir crazy! Too bad Silver was the one who had to go! He was one of the interesting ones." Monokuma cackled, holding his paws up in front of his face.

"You..." Diamond glared. "You let this happen."

"Why of course!" Monokuma nodded. "I _did _encourage you all to kill if you want to go home, so I'm not surprised one of you gave in!"

"...So that's it, huh?" I frowned, my fist and teeth clenched in anger towards the killer. "Now the killer gets to walk free with someone of their choice, while the rest of us are stuck here until the cycle continues?!"

Monokuma cackled once more, this time more sinisterly. "Not exactly..."

"Hm, is that not what you promised?" Sage questioned.

"Well, yes." Monokuma nodded. "But I didn't mention one tiny little detail."

"And that is?" I asked.

"Just killing someone is way too easy, even that fat kid managed to kill someone." Monokuma snickered. "The real fun of the killing game is that you have to get _away _with murder!"

"Get away with murder?" Mauve repeated. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Allow me to explain!" Monokuma answered.

"The one who murdered Silver is now **blackened**, while the rest of you are **the spotless**! You will all have a chance to **investigate **Silver's murder. After a certain amount of investigation time, you will all then participate in a **class trial**! Make your argument for who you think the blackened is! Make the right choice, and you're all safe, while the blackened is **punished**! However, make the wrong choice, and the blackened goes free, while the rest of you are punished."

Our faces turned from sad to confused.

"...Punished?" Cotton repeated. "Does that mean you're going to inject us with Despisocide?"

Monokuma shook his head. "Incorrect! I have a more elaborate, 'fitting' punishment for whoever loses..."

So, if what Monokuma was saying was true, we'd get a chance to investigate Silver's murder. Then, we use the evidence that we've collected to participate in an Ace-Attorney esque class trial? Finally, we'd have to decide who the 'blackened' is. If we're right, they alone are 'punished'. If not, then, the rest of us are punished while the blackened goes free.

One part of me was angry at Monokuma for letting this happen, but another part of me was determined to figure out who killed Silver and avenge him.

I turned to look at the faces of everyone. We were all still saddened over Silver's death, but I think now we had a fire in us.

A determination to find his killer.

And make them pay for what they did!

"Now then, I have drawn up a file to help you start the investigation!" Monokuma announced, pulling out a tablet. "It's the Monokuma File!"

He tossed it to Sunrise. We all immediately gathered around him to read what it had to say.

_The Victim is __**Silver**__. The body was discovered in the __**announcement room**__. _

_The estimated time of death is __**1:09**__. _

_The cause of death is unknown. He has __**no external wounds**__. There is a __**trail of blood**__ leading from his mouth. _

_A __**white powder substance **__can be found on his tongue. _

I almost started to tear up again. He's really dead...

This..._Monokuma File _or whatever didn't really seem to help us out. No cause of death? We already knew the time of death was about 13-ish minutes after the game was over, sometime during Sage and Sunrise's fight...

"Anyways, bye bye now!" Monokuma waved. "I think in honor of Silver, I'm going to eat some fish!"

As per usual, he disappeared.

The announcement room was silent, with the exception of a few people's lingering sobs.

I looked down at the floor, closing my eyes shut. No matter how much pain we were all in, we couldn't afford to sit around and cry. We had to do this!

For Silver!

* * *

_**Investigation Start**_

* * *

"Come on, everyone," Sunrise said, snapping his fingers. "We have to focus or we're all dead meat."

"The pilot's right..." I sighed. "If we don't collect enough evidence to find out who the killer is and we vote for the wrong person, we'll be punished."

"Way to restate everything I just said..." Sunrise muttered.

"Where do we even start?" Mauve frowned. "I don't know about any of you, but I've never investigated a murder before."

"I can help!" Noir volunteered, raising her hand. "I know I'm not a detective or anything, but I know a thing or two about how to investigate!"

"Sure..." Sunrise sighed. "Better than nothing."

"I'm assuming you'll also be doing some investigating, right, Sunrise?" I questioned.

"Obviously, asshole." Sunrise answered. "We'll _all_ be investigating. Anyone and everyone will be doing something, not just sitting around crying or feeling sorry for themselves or Silver. I'm not dying because you guys were too depressed to do anything."

A harsh delivery, but a true statement. We all needed to be doing something in order to put the pieces of Silver's murder together.

About a minute later, and Sunrise commenced the investigation.

We were all allowed to do what we wanted to, as long as it was doing something to investigate.

I immediately knew the first thing I wanted to do. Who knows, I might have already solved the murder!

I walked up to the number one suspicious person of the 19 of us.

"Royal." I called.

She was currently sitting on a chair, pretending to look busy.

"What do you want?" She asked, not even bothering to look up at me.

"Isn't it obvious?" I questioned. "What the hell were you doing standing over Silver's body? Besides, when did you even go with him to the announcement room?"

She scoffed. "Are you seriously suggesting I murdered the TV host? _Please_, as if I would risk messing up my manicure..."

"_Royal_." I frowned. "If you don't tell me what you were doing, we're all going to think the killer is you. And if you truly are innocent, then we're all going to be 'punished'. I know you don't care about the rest of us, but do you really want that for yourself?"

Royal sighed, slowly looking up at me. "_Fine_, I'll tell you. But it's not as interesting of a story as you think."

"I was growing bored of watching Sage and Sunrise's fight, so I thought I'd see what's taking that TV host so long. When I entered, I didn't see him or anyone else. So, upon walking a little further into the room, I found out why. He was laying on the ground, dead. I went to check on him to verify, and when I realized he actually was dead, I screamed and alerted you all. If it wasn't for me, Silver probably wouldn't have been found at all. Well, at least for a while."

I rolled my eyes. "That's it? You didn't see anyone leave or enter the room?"

Royal thought for a moment, before shaking her head. Then, she looked like she realized something. "Well, I _am _quite observant, as you may know. Before Silver entered, I noticed he looked a little worried. Ah, _and_ I noticed that the room smelled like tequila. Which is unusual because Silver had been drinking a peach bellini all night, which as you may know, contains no tequila..."

"Finally, something useful..." I muttered, mentally taking down a note of her testimony.

**Truth Bullet: Royal's Account, obtained!**

"Anyways, I didn't kill that man," Royal claimed. "I tolerated him. He did not bother me as much as some of the others here..."

I sighed and walked away. So, she's suggesting that she has it in her to kill, just not those who she 'tolerates'...

As disgusted as I was, I had to check up with Noir about Silver's body. Just my luck: It looked like she just finished examining him.

I slowly approached Silver's body and Noir, making sure to not look at the unfortunate TV host in the eyes...

"U-um, did you find anything, Noir?" I asked, trying not to pay to much attention to how badly I wanted to throw up right now.

Noir frowned. "Well, not anything we didn't already know. It's clear that Silver's body lacks any external wounds, so I don't believe he was stabbed or anything. I'd deduce he was probably **poisoned**!"

Poisoned, huh. That means he ate or drank something that did him in...

"What's that glass next to him?" I asked, pointing.

Noir turned, picking up one of the shards of glass. "It's...a cup, I think!"

Then she nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure! Look at this piece, it's cylindrical while the rest are normal. This must've been the stem of the cup, while the rest of the pieces are the actual glass part."

"Interesting. So he must've dropped his drink when he started to feel the effects of the poison." I noted.

So Silver died from a poisoned drink? But when he went into the announcement room, he wasn't carrying anything...

**Truth Bullet: Noir's Account, obtained!**

"Thanks, Noir." I nodded.

"No problem-o!" She smiled. "Happy to help where I can."

I saw nothing more of interest in the announcement room, so I left for the time being.

* * *

In the dining room, I went over to the possible murder weapon: the bar table.

If Silver really drank a poisoned drink, then maybe there are some clues here...

Mauve had all the alcohol, juices, syrups, and mixes that he used to make the various drinks laid out. Damn, looking at all of this, Monokuma really went overboard on providing us with this stuff...

**Truth Bullet: Bar Table, obtained! **

There were some pre-made drinks on the table, very close to where we played the trivia game.

**Truth Bullet: Pre-Made Drinks, obtained!**

This peach bellini looks like someone drank out of it...

Wait...

_"All four teams are tied! We're all winners!" Silver announced, taking a drink from one of the tables and toasting it._

Could this be...the drink that Silver drank?

And if so, is it the one that killed him?

Ugh, but that still doesn't explain the shattered glass in the announcement room!

**Truth Bullet: Drunken Peach Bellini, obtained!**

Nothing of interest left here.

OK, this music is annoying the shit out of me now! The party music was still playing, and this particular song was unusually and annoyingly loud.

I walked over to the music player Monokuma gave Sunrise to use, and looked at the song playing.

It was some random EDM song **30 **minutes long.

"What the hell..." I muttered. I paused it and smiled. "Much better." It's almost impossible to hear anything over this, except if you're yelling like Sage and Sunrise were.

**Truth Bullet: Long & Loud Song, obtained!**

OK, now that that's over with, I wanted to check something out...

The laundry room...I had been here just hours before, when everything was peaceful and OK. Now, it was complete and utter chaos as we were forced to solve a murder...

Anyways, I came here for one specific reason: look at the packaging for the poison.

Yup, that's right! This dumbass already knows what poisoned Silver! The powdery substance on his tongue, as well as a comment from Royal, helped me realize almost immediately what the poison was: laundry detergent.

_"__**This **__is laundry detergent. It's definitely a poor quality, is probably lethal upon ingestion and not the type my family uses, but it's the only thing the vile Monokuma provided us with."_

There was only one box of the laundry detergent packets opened. I grabbed it, and looked it over.

Huh, weird. There was the same exact number of packets left from when Royal took one to use. So, whoever poisoned Silver took the packet _before_ I did laundry today...

**Truth Bullet: Number of Laundry Packets, obtained! **

I then read the back of the box, searching for something specific.

_**WARNING**__: Mono Pods are lethal upon ingestion. Death will begin to occur just__** one minute **__upon ingestion, so please, feel free to use this as poison! _

Well, that told me everything I needed to know. The culprit clearly got the idea of using poison when they read this box.

**Truth Bullet: Mono Pods Warning, obtained! **

Alrighty, that's it for here.

* * *

I entered the dining room and spotted two familiar faces.

"What's going on here?" I questioned.

"Look, Crimson." Azure frowned, beckoning me over to him.

He and Rose were currently looking at the drink table, holding up one of the peach bellinis.

"Sunrise kicked us out of the announcement room when he saw we weren't doing any investigating." Rose blushed. "But thankfully he did, otherwise we wouldn't have noticed this."

She picked up another peach bellini and held it up to the one she was already holding.

What? The first peach bellini that she was holding was strangely lighter in color than the second one. And not just a little bit, it was pretty noticeable if you were looking for something off about it.

"What's this mean?" I asked.

"You've already figured out what poison killed Silver, right?" Azure asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, thanks to Royal, I'm 99.9% sure it was the laundry detergent."

"Then we're all on the same page." Rose nodded. "Anyways, I think the reason this peach bellini is lighter in color is _because _of the laundry detergent."

"What do you mean?" I questioned. "Are you suggesting..."

"Someone poisoned this drink with the laundry detergent." Azure sighed, a sad frown on his face.

**Truth Bullet: Poisoned Drink, obtained!**

"This is so fucked up." I groaned. "I don't even know what to think anymore..."

We all said we'd keep our 'trigger fingers' to ourselves, but now Silver's dead and there's a poisoned drink out in the open. Someone clearly had murder on their mind for quite some time...

But, I wonder...Is the person who poisoned this drink and the person who poisoned Silver the same?

"We'll get through this, Crimson." Rose said, placing her hand on my arm. "Stay strong."

"I'll try." I sighed. "It just sucks. I thought I could get used to living here against my will since I had all of you guys, but now Silver's gone and one of us is a killer..."

"I know everything seems hopeless now, but we can do this." Azure smiled, placing his hand on my other arm. "We've gotten through everything so far unscathed, so we can do this too!"

"Yeah," Rose smiled. "And we're stronger when we're together, so let's stay by each other's sides, OK?"

I nodded with a smile. "Yeah, you guys are right. Sorry, I'm just shaken up about this whole thing. I never expected anyone would give into Monokuma's motives..."

"Don't worry, Red Eyes, I'll help you through this!" Azure beamed.

"_Again_, you have red eyes too, Az..."

* * *

After investigating in the dining room, I decided to head back to the announcement room in order to search for something I needed.

I begrudgingly walked over to Silver's body. Noir was investigating something else, so I was good to do my own investigating of his body.

I looked closer at the corpse of my silver-haired friend. His expression was blank, likely a result of y'know, dying.

I cringed a little as I searched his pockets.

_Forgive me, Silver..._

I searched all his pockets and patted his body down...

But, I didn't find what I was looking for!

"That's weird..." I muttered. "Where's his room key and e-Handbook?"

**Truth Bullet: Missing Keys and e-Handbook, obtained! **

Silver needs his key to get into his room, so why would it be missing...?

Tch, who am I kidding? The killer probably stole them.

I sighed, looking around the announcement room for any more clues. But alas, I had run out.

I was left with no choice but to ask His Royal Highness for help...

"Sunrise," I called, tapping the pilot on the shoulder.

He turned around with an annoyed expression on his face. "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy trying to save all of our asses?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." I said, rolling my eyes. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Spit it out." Sunrise frowned.

"Well, I wanted to know how you think the killer killed Silver." I explained. "Like, how were they able to go into the announcement room, hand him a drink, and then come back out before anyone noticed? Or, if you go with our other theory that the peach bellini he drank before he went in killed him, then what do you think about the shattered glass?"

Sunrise thought for a moment before sighing. "Look, I'm not a detective or any of that shit. But, I have a thought about your first theory. I don't think any one of us noticed the killer going into the announcement room because of **a certain event**..."

"Ah, you're talking about your argument with Sage, right?" I inquired.

"Yeah..." Sunrise answered. "All of you idiots were too focused on us to notice the killer going in...And by the way, as far as your second theory goes, I have no idea, so figure that one out yourself."

**Truth Bullet: Sage and Sunrise's Argument, obtained!**

"Thanks for the help." I nodded. "You're not that bad of a leader, y'know..."

Even if he could be a hot-headed dick sometimes, Sunrise wasn't doing too bad of a job as leader. I wonder if we'll vote to impeach him after all...

"Sure..." Sunrise muttered. He turned away from me and went back to investigating.

I looked around the announcement room, looking for something to do so Sunrise wouldn't kick me out.

That's when I spotted a crying dancer.

"Scarlet, what's wrong?" I asked, approaching her. She was currently sitting on a chair, silently sobbing.

She looked at me in surprise and quickly wiped her tears away. "O-oh, nothing!" She claimed, mustering up a smile.

"Feeling a little sad about Silver?" I questioned, taking a seat next to her.

"U-um, yeah..." She nodded. "I can't belive he's gone..."

Oh, that's right. Scarlet and Silver were assigned by Sunrise to wake everyone up every morning. I guess they had gotten close.

I didn't really take Scarlet for the crying type, though.

**Truth Bullet: Scarlet's Crying, obtained!**

"Hey, he's in a better place." I said, patting her shoulder. "He's with all of his loved ones who passed away rather than being stuck in this place."

Scarlet slowly nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, I'm just so sorry...U-um, sorry that he had to suffer when he died. Nobody deserves to die like that..."

As she spoke, her eyes started to water again.

I felt so bad for her; she was taking this thing pretty hard.

Still, I had to keep investigating.

I gave Scarlet some more words of encouragement before leaving her.

* * *

"Diamond," I called. The photoshoot choreographer turned to me.

"Yes?" She asked. "Please make this quick. I'm trying to figure out who would benefit from Monokuma's motive."

"Sure," I nodded. "Anyways, I was just wondering about bodyguard duty...Mauve had prepared some drinks earlier today, right?"

Diamond nodded. "I assume so. There was already a bottle prepared in the fridge when Shadow and I started our shift, so yes, he could've made it earlier today."

"OK, thank you." I said. "That's all I needed."

Diamond nodded once again and went back to thinking about who would benefit from the motive.

**Truth Bullet: Pre-Made Drinks, updated!**

**Truth Bullet: Bodyguard Duty, obtained!**

"Mauve!" I called from across the room. The card dealer raised a brow and made his way over to me.

"Crimson." Mauve acknowledged. "What do you need?"

"Just a question." I started. "I wanted to know when you made the first batch of drinks for the party."

"**Yesterday**." He answered. "I made a bottle of Long Island iced tea, just to brush up on my drink mixing before the party."

"Long Island iced tea?" I repeated. "I can't remember anyone drinking that tonight..."

Mauve shook his head. "For some reason it smelt a little weird and no one wanted to try it." He shrugged. "At least my other drinks were a hit."

"Thanks, Mauve." I said.

I was starting to piece some things together.

"No problem." He nodded. "Let me know if there's anything else you need."

* * *

"Crimson," Merigold smiled upon seeing me. "What brings you here?"

I had decided to go to the rec center to look for any possible clues. I was kinda getting a little desperate...

To my surprise, I found Merigold sitting on a couch, reading a book.

"Merigold." I smiled back. "I just came to look for some clues, but I'm a little doubtful that I'll find anything."

Merigold slowly shook her head. "Sorry, but I've looked around a little bit and haven't found anything."

I nodded. "Figures..." I took a seat next to her. "Whatcha reading?"

Merigold showed me the cover. "_A Star and the Sun _by Edward Lane. I'm loving it!"

"What's it about?" I asked.

Merigold giggled. "I'm warning you, it's a little cheesy! I needed a break from all the language learning books I read!"

"Aw, c'mon, I like cheesy!" I laughed. "And hey, I could use a good cheesy story right now to distract me from this nightmare we're trapped in."

Merigold nodded understandingly. "Well, there's two main protagonists: Lina and Dante. Lina, befitting of her name, is a ballerina, who has been performing since she was a little girl. Her dreams are cut short, however, when she gets in a plane crash while traveling to Paris for a performance. She finds herself stuck in the hospital, with her only companion being a man who was also on the plane when it went down. As the two begin to get to know each other, they start to fall in love!"

"Sounds...cute." I said. Love stories weren't really my thing, but I'd much rather hear about Lina and Dante then Monokuma and the HFH Enterprise.

"It is," Merigold beamed. "Although, Lane just introduced a plot twist! Turns out, Dante was the assistant pilot of the plane!"

"Oh damn," I chuckled. "So now Lina 'hates his guts', right?"

Merigold laughed. "Yup!"

"You must really like that book," I noted. "You're like 3/4 of the way through already."

Merigold nodded. "Yes, and I just started it yesterday! After I was done with server duty, Sunrise made me replace Onyx as a bodyguard because he wanted 'his muscles' to help set up...Even though I explained to him he was breaking his own rule of not being a server and a bodyguard on the same day, he still made me do it! Of course, I wasn't going to just stand around with Noir talking my ear off, so I snuck away to the rec center, picked out a random book from the fictional section, and started reading it in the kitchen throughout the rest of the day. I guess there was a silver lining to being picked as a bodyguard that day, because if I wasn't, I never would've discovered this book!"

**Truth Bullet: A Star and the Sun by Edward Lane, obtained!**

"Well, I'm glad you're enj-"

My voice was cut off by Monokuma's signature chime.

"Okey dokey, folks, I think that's enough investigating for now. I'm getting tired of waiting, so it's time for the long-awaited **class trial**!" Monokuma cackled, his voice echoing throughout the ship.

I sighed, glancing at Merigold.

"Please prepare yourselves for a little nap! I'm going to take you somewhere **very special**..."

"What?" I said, raising a brow. "A nap?"

Suddenly, I felt myself growing tired. I didn't know why, I was full of adrenaline just seconds ago...

My eyes gradually closed. They felt so heavy that I couldn't even try to open them.

Then, I felt my body start to shut down, as I collapsed on the floor...

* * *

My eyes fluttered open. I was laying on something cold and hard.

I slowly lifted myself up, and observed my surroundings.

Everyone was here, all 19 of us. Mostly everyone was awake.

We were in a plain and dark room, with the wall and floor both being metal. There was a door leading out and another elaborate, red door leading somewhere else...

"Fucking Monokuma..." I grumbled, fully picking myself up.

So this is what he meant by 'prepare yourselves for a little nap'...

"What is this place?" Cotton questioned. He was trying to open one of the doors, but it looks like it was locked.

"No idea." Onyx frowned. "Though this must be what Monokuma meant by 'a special destination'..."

"H-he's not going to hurt us, is he?" Indigo sniffed. "I thought we were supposed to do a 'class trial'?"

"Knowing him, I wouldn't be surprised if he lied to us." Emerald frowned. "All he does is play games and tricks!"

A few minutes later, and everyone was awake.

"Monokuma." I called. "Where the fuck are you?"

Surprisingly, the pilot appeared in front of us.

"Yessss?" He questioned. "I'm a little busy, y'know!"

"Doing what?" Frost inquired. "You've kept us all waiting in here for far too long."

"I'm preparing the punishments!" Monokuma answered. "This time around, they're going to be bigger, better, and bloodier than ever before!"

"Uh, what the hell are you talking about?" I frowned.

"Anyways, it's time, everyone!" Monokuma announced. "Please enter the door, and I'll be right with you guys..."

And with that, he was gone.

There was a click, coming from the elaborate red door.

"Here goes nothing..." Mauve sighed. He turned the knob, revealing an...elevator?

"An interesting elevator, indeed." Diamond noted.

"Is this how the rich live?" Cotton thought aloud.

We all slowly entered the elevator.

There was only one button, pointing up.

Being the closest to it, Royal pushed it.

"Don't fail me, idiots," Royal said. "I'm not dying because of your stupidity."

"Hey, we're all in this together." Merigold protested. "We all need to participate and help figure this out, not just a couple of people doing all the work."

After that, the elevator was quiet other than the rumble of its engine.

I looked around at each of my classmates, feeling a sense of dread.

Next time we rode this elevator, how different will things be?

Will 1 of us be gone, with only 18 of us left?

...Or will the killer, having gotten away with it, be riding back, along with the 1 person they think deserves to live?

* * *

_A/N_: **And the investigation is complete! This is my first case in a while, so it's not the best, and it's not hard to determine who the killer is, but I still hope you guys enjoy nonetheless! **

**Make sure to let me know who you think the killer is, and how/why they did it!**

**Thanks for reading and supporting this story, see you guys in the next one.**


	13. The Fool and Her Groom (Part 7)

The Fool and Her Groom (Part 7) (_**Deadly Life**_)

* * *

**Truth Bullets**

**Monokuma File**: The Victim is Silver. The body was discovered in the announcement room.

The estimated time of death is 1:09.

The cause of death is unknown. He has no external wounds. There is a trail of blood leading from his mouth.

A white powder substance can be found on his tongue.

**Royal's Account**: Royal entered the announcement room during Sage and Sunrise's fight to see what was taking Silver so long. Apparently, before Silver entered the announcement room, he had a worried expression. Royal noticed that the room smelt of tequila, despite Silver's drink of the night, a peach bellini, not having any. Lastly, Royal discovered Silver's corpse and screamed to let us know what was going on.

**Noir's Account**: Noir investigated Silver's corpse during the investigation. She determined he was poisoned, and that the glass shards next to him came from a shattered drinking glass. However, Silver wasn't carrying a drink when he went into the announcement room...

**Bar Table**: The bar table where Mauve made the drinks has everything laid out in the open, including all the syrups, mixes, etc.

**Pre-Made Drinks**: There's some pre-made drinks laid out on the bar table, close to where we played the trivia game. Also, there was apparently a bottle of Long Island iced tea that Mauve prepared yesterday. No one drank out it, however, because it 'smelt weird'.

**Drunken Peach Bellini**: Silver took a drink out of a peach bellini after the trivia game was over.

**Loud & Long Song**: An unusually long and loud song was playing during Sage and Sunrise's fight, and during the investigation. It is almost impossible to hear anything over it; you'd have to yell to be heard.

**Number of Laundry Packets**: The number of laundry packets is the same since I washed Cotton's clothes with Royal. Meaning, the killer took them _before _then.

**Mono Pods Warning**: The warning about Mono Pods being lethal can be found on the back of the packaging, which is probably what gave the killer the idea. (_WARNING: Mono Pods are lethal upon ingestion. Death will begin to occur just one minute upon ingestion, so please, feel free to use this as poison!_)

**Poisoned Drink**: A poisoned peach bellini was found on the bar table. It's unclear if Silver's killer and the one who poisoned this drink are the same.

**Missing Keys and e-Handbook**: Silver's keys and e-Handbook are not on his person. The killer probably took them.

**Sage and Sunrise's Argument**: Sage and Sunrise were in an argument at the time of the murder. Mostly everyone was focused on them, sans the killer...

**Scarlet's Crying**: I found Scarlet crying during the investigation. Poor girl...

**Bodyguard Duty**: Onyx came up with a rule where we'd have two bodyguards in the kitchen, making sure no one uses the kitchen knives for evil. The bodyguards we've had so far are as follows:

_Day 6: Lava & Crimson_

_Day 7: Noir & Onyx (Onyx was then switched out with Merigold, per Sunrise's request)_

_Day 8 (today/party day): Diamond & Shadow/Cloud_

**A Star and the Sun by Edward Lane**: A story about a ballerina, Lina, and a pilot, Dante, who get into a plane crash together and fall in love while in the hospital. Apparently, Dante was the assistant pilot of the planet that crashed, which Lina doesn't find out until later. Merigold found this book in the rec center and picked it up to have something to do while on bodyguard duty.

* * *

The elevator stopped, and we all slowly walked out.

The room we were now in was some sort of make-shift trial room. The walls were pitch black with shiny dark red stripes, and the floor was an elaborate carpet that looked like it belonged in a fancy hotel or something.

There were 20 trial stands, each with a name, arranged in a circle, with Monokuma sitting on a throne near the back.

I begrudgingly approached my trial stand, the one closest to the elevator, and took note of the trial stand order, starting from the left of me and going clockwise:

Scarlet

Diamond

Frost

Mauve

Rose

Azure

Sunrise

Cloud/Shadow

Silver (Monokuma cruelly put a black and white portrait of Silver's smiling face on his trial stand, with an even crueler bloody red 'X' drawn over it. The X was staticy, like a TV screen.)

Emerald (in front of Monokuma)

Noir

Merigold

Cotton

Lava

Onyx

Cherry

Indigo

Sage

Royal (on my right)

Everyone took their places, looking at each other uncomfortably and with anxiety in all of our hearts.

"This makes me feel like I'm in court, or something." Onyx remarked, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Probably something you're used to..." I heard Royal mutter. Why did Monokuma have to put me next to her?!

Scarlet was quiet, and currently staring at Silver's portrait. Geez, she must be taking this _a lot _harder than I thought.

Sage was looking around the trial room, at the floor and the walls. "Interesting design choices..." He remarked, presumably to himself.

"Indeed." Diamond nodded. "In a different circumstance, this would be a lovely place to have a photoshoot."

The room grew quiet. True, if we weren't solving the murder of one of our friends, killed by one of our other friends, then yeah: this would be a great place to hang out.

But Silver's X'ed out portrait made it all too prevalent that this was a terrifying, live or die situation that we shouldn't take lightly. We _had _to solve Silver's murder. Not only for his sake, but also because all of our lives are on the line! If we make the wrong choice, then the killer walks away free with their chosen person, and we're all stuck here to be punished, whatever the fuck that means.

My line of thinking was interrupted by the unnerving and annoying voice of Pilot Monokuma.

"Now then, looks like we're all here!" Monokuma commented, looking at each of us. "...Well, except for poor Silverfish!"

I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to bang my head on the trial stand.

"Just get on with it, already." Sunrise demanded.

"Yes, I'd like to make it back to my bed before 4 AM..." Lava nodded.

"Me too," Cherry cried. She looked like she was about to fall over and pass out at any second, I guess she doesn't do too well with lack of sleep.

"Don't worry, after this is all over I'll make coffee for us all." Frost reassured. The poor man couldn't comfort his girl, as she was pretty far away from him.

"Hey, who's going to fix up the mess from the party?" Emerald questioned. "We're all here so there's no left to clean."

"Don't worry, I have it _all _under control." Monokuma claimed. "My expert team of Ultimate Cleaners are on the job!"

"So you're not the only robot thing on this ship?" Noir asked in surprise.

"Hey! I'm not a 'robot thing'!" Monokuma protested. "I'm an intelligent AI capable of making my own decisions!"

"Yeah, but if whoever built you _hadn't _built you, then you'd be a useless lump of metal." Cotton commented.

Monokuma sniffed. "Fine then. I'll leave you all and go back to my family in Madagascar. Though I wonder how they'll react to me being gone for over 400 years..."

"Aw, that's so sad!" Merigold started. "Said no one ever. Come on, let's get this trial started!"

"Geez, you're all so impatient!" Monokuma complained, crossing his arms. "The other groups were a lot more well behaved than you!"

"Ugh, can you cut it out with the 'other groups' crap?" I frowned. "No one knows what you're talking about, you senile old man."

"Wow, words can hurt y'know, Mr. Crimson!" Monokuma sniffed. "I should know! I was attacked by a gang of vowels once."

We all stayed silent.

"_Anyways_, let's begin: the **class trial**!" Monokuma announced.

I took a deep breath.

This is it.

We're going to avenge Silver!

...Or at least _try _to.

I feel like if we all put our intelligence together, we can solve this crime…

But at the end of the day, we're all teenagers with no real knowledge on how to conduct a murder investigation and a trial…

_**TRIAL START!**_

"Now then, a simple explanation of the class trial," Monokuma started. "Argue your hearts out and vote for who you think the killer is ! Your votes will determine the results of the trial. If you can figure out 'whodunnit' then _only they _will receive punishment. But if you pick the _wrong one_... then I'll punish everyone **besides** the blackened, and they'll be given the right to return back home to Earth! In this _very special_ case, the blackened will also get to take someone else with them as part of the savior perk!"

"Phew, a lot of info to take in at once." Onyx commented. "Where do we even start?"

"I know _exactly _where to start!" Cotton claimed, slamming his fist on his stand and pointing at…

Royal?

"Royal! You are our _very first _suspect!" Cotton continued, sounding like a rip off Phoenix Wright. "After all, **you **were the one who discovered Silver's body!"

Royal rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I've already told my dear Crimson I had nothing to do with Silver's murder…"

"Well, true." I nodded. "But Royal, you don't exactly have an air-tight alibi...Your claims are based on your own testimony."

"H-hey!" Royal scoffed. "Sunrise, please shut these air-headed heathens up!"

Sunrise sighed. "...Royal, you know as well as I do that in this trial, I have no power. Everyone has the right to speak their mind…"

Royal looked as angry as ever, but kept her composure. "_Fine_. Then what do I have to do to prove my innocence?"

_**Non-Stop Argument **_

"Royal was the first one to discover **Silver's Body**. I don't want to point fingers so quickly, but c'mon we're in a class trial, after all!" Cotton explained, motioning at Royal like a mad man.

"Such an **idiot**…" Royal groaned, facepalming.

"Royal really killed Silver?" Indigo questioned. "But how?"

"**Poison**, duh!" Noir answered, sounding rather confident in herself. "She probably used his favorite drink: **a peach bellini** to do so!"

"Those things are good as hell…" Sunrise admitted.

" ...**Thank you**." Mauve awkwardly nodded. "I'll make them again sometime."

"Is there really nothing that can prove **Royal's innocence**?" Rose inquired.

"I guess not...I can't think of **any other evidence** **that'd help her**." Emerald shrugged.

_**Truth Bullet: Sage and Sunrise's Argument, FIRED!**_

"No that's, wrong!"

_**BREAK!**_

"There _is _something that proves Royal's not the killer!" I protested. "Sage and Sunrise's argument!"

"What about that childish event?" Diamond questioned. "How does it help her case?"

"Well, Royal knew about it." I answered. "If we're going with the theory that the killer used the fight to go into the announcement room and kill Silver, then they wouldn't have a lot of knowledge about the fight."

"So, Royal, when exactly _did _you leave?" Azure asked. "If you tell us what point in Sage and Sunrise's argument you decided to go into the announcement room and check in on Silver, then it could prove that you couldn't have killed him."

I nodded. "Exactly. There's about three important points during the argument I think someone like you would remember."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Royal frowned, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well, to be blunt: you're someone who likes drama." I answered. "And like I said, there's about three dramatic points in the fight that you should be able to pinpoint...So spit them out and you're in the clear."

Royal sighed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "If I remember correctly...I can only think of two. One is when the artist boy suggested impeachment to get rid of my dear Sunrise, and then two is when he pushed Sunrise and suggested assassination was a 'better route'. It was then that I left and went into the announcement room to find Silver's body. I screamed as soon as I found him."

I closed my eyes, thinking back to Sage and Sunrise's fight…

_"Then maybe you shouldn't be the leader, anymore." Sage yelled. "It's almost a week since you've made yourself leader. I think it's almost time for_ _**impeachment**__!"_

_Sunrise rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, I'll just get to Monokuma before you do and make myself leader for another week. And then a week after that. And a week after that. A week afte-"_

_**Sage pushed Sunrise**__, to which everyone stopped talking, watching the scene with wide eyes. "...If you refuse to be impeached, then perhaps assasination is a better route." _

_Sunrise's eyes widened. You could tell he was seething with anger and rage._

_Sunrise raised his fist, and he quickly moved it towards Sage's face until..._

_**"AHHHHHH!" Someone screamed**__. _

"Her timeline lines up perfectly with what happened." I nodded. "She entered the announcement room as soon as Sage pushed Sunrise, and then a few seconds later, at the same time that Sunrise was getting ready to punch Sage, she found Silver's body and screamed.

"OK, I'm satisfied." Cotton agreed. "Sorry, Royal, I just wanted to make sure."

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm confused." Onyx said, stroking his non-existent beard in thought. "How does Royal remembering Sage pushing Sunrise prove she's not the killer?"

"Sage pushed Sunrise, and then a few seconds later, Sunrise was about to hit Sage, which is when Royal found Silver," I started. "In that short amount of time, there's no way she'd be able to poison Silver, especially because the poison makes people writhe in agony for a little while."

"Ah, I see…" Onyx nodded. "So Royal is innocent. Good for her, except now we don't have anymore suspects."

I nodded. _Yeah...and now we don't have a way to make sure the killer's alibi is reliable, since Royal and I just revealed practically all the details about Sage and Sunrise's fight...No worries, though, I'll think of another way to accuse them when I can think of more suspects…_

"Are we finally done with this ridiculous line of thinking?" Royal questioned, giving me the evil eye. "I don't think we should start and accuse each other when there's still plenty of things we haven't discussed yet. Such as: the murder weapon."

The murder weapon…

I already know what it is.

_**Question**_: _**What killed Silver?**_

_Purple poison from our rooms_

_**Mono Pods **_

_Mauve's terrible drink-mixing abilities _

"Haha, got it in one take!"

_**Answer: Mono Pods**_

"There's no doubt about it." I nodded. "It was definitely the Mono Pods."

"M-mono Pods?" Cloud repeated. "That's the laundry detergent's name, right?"

"Yup." I answered. "The killer mixed it into whatever drink Silver drank and got him to drink it somehow."

"A lethal laundry detergent?" Onyx said. "But when I was working on developing a laundry detergent for a company in Sweden, I did some research and found out that it takes 17 cups of detergent to go from nausea to actual fatal organ damage. Did the killer really put that much detergent in Silver's drink?"

"Now hold on just a second!" Monokuma intervened. "My luxurious Mono Pods are not like your regular household laundry detergent! They contain all the best ingredients to make your clothes clean and fresh, while also being able to kill you! Interesting factoid, am I right?"

"Interesting indeed..." Onyx deadpanned, looking uncomfortably at Monokuma.

"Wait a minute…" Frost said. "Laundry pods capable of killing people upon ingestion…?"

"That sounds awfully familiar…" Cherry admitted. "But no one would ever be dumb enough to eat a laundry pod on purpose, right?"

"You'd be surprised!" Monokuma protested. "It's a very popular delicacy, especially in America!"

"Hey, that's not true," Mauve claimed. "We don't do that stuff."

"Yeah, fake news." Sunrise agreed. "They even lock the laundry pods up to _stop _people from doing stupid shit like that."

"Locked up laundry pods?" Noir repeated.

"Only in America…" Scarlet muttered.

"So that settles it," Emerald nodded, changing the subject. "It was the Mono Pods that did Silver in! But how, when, and where did the killer get them?"

Merigold nodded. "Valid question. If we can find out when the killer took them, maybe we can also figure out who the killer is."

_**Non-Stop Argument **_

"How do we find out when the killer took them? I didn't see **anyone carrying them around**…" Indigo said, nervously twiddling her thumbs.

"**Anyone could have taken them**. We all have to do laundry, after all." Sage shrugged, crossing her arms. Wait a damn minute, is he still drawing in his notebook?!

"Isn't it obvious?" Sunrise sighed. "It was probably **today**. The killer took them on the day they were planning on killing Silver...

" ...And then mixed it into Silver's drink during the party…" Lava finished.

" **Which killed him**…" Cherry sadly frowned.

"Yay, murder solved!" Noir cheered.

"Case closed!" Onyx applauded.

_**Truth Bullet: Number of Laundry Packets, FIRED!**_

"No, that's wrong!"

_**BREAK!**_

"There's no way the killer took them before today." I claimed, shaking my head.

"Why's that?" Sunrise questioned, looking not at all happy to be proven wrong. Ooo, this was kinda fun...

"Because, Royal and I did Cotton's laundry this morning." I revealed. "And the number of laundry packets is the exact same from when we did it."

"So?" Sunrise sneered. "The killer just took them earlier then."

"Maybe _yesterday_, but not today." I argued. "This morning, after breakfast, everyone besides Cotton, Royal, and I were in the dining room, getting ready to prepare for Cotton's party. Maybe some people left around afternoon time to get ready, but that was after I had already done laundry, and I already explained about the number of laundry packets."

"Tch, what if the douchebag just took the laundry packets _before _breakfast?" Sunrise countered, continuing his assault on theory.

"There's no way they could." I disagreed.

_"No, I told you before that we should all be in the dining room by 8:00. It makes everything go a lot faster when we're all there." Scarlet frowned, crossing her arms and glaring at Shadow. _

_"Well the thing is, I don't care." Shadow harshly quipped. "Just do whatever the hell you need to do without me. I'll get breakfast when I'm ready to, not when some dancing fairy princess tells me to."_

_"Mr. Shadow, it is not just you that you're affecting." Silver sighed. "We all need to be present in the dining room for when Cherry picks the names of the servers and bodyguards for the day. If someone is not present and their name is called, then it's not fair to any of us."_

_"Sounds like a you problem." Shadow shrugged. "I never agreed to any rules besides the one in the e-Handbook."_

_"It's not in the e-Handbook, but Sunrise has ordered us to make sure everyone is in the dining room by 8:00. And disobeying his rules will get you killed. Plus, he lent us his room key, and said we could use force if necessary..." Scarlet replied, twirling said room key in her hands. I could tell it was killing her to refer to Sunrise as an authority figure, but I could also tell that she just wanted Shadow to shut the fuck up so Sunrise wouldn't bitch at her later. _

"Because of _your _rule." I continued. "Everyone was forced to go to the dining room as soon as they woke up and got ready, or Scarlet and Silver would come knocking on the door."

"Sorry about that, guys…" Scarlet softly stated.

"Fine, fine, whatever." Sunrise sighed, admitting defeat.

"If it wasn't today," Rose started. "Then was it yesterday?"

I sighed. "That, I can't tell you…I know that everyone involved in the team building exercises stayed in the dining room area, and only went out when we needed to get things from the rec center or computer lab, but that we did together. Oh, and Merigold went to get a book at one point."

"I didn't take a Mono Pod, I promise! I just went to the rec center really quickly, took a book, and went back to the kitchen for bodyguard duty." Merigold claimed.

"I believe you Merigold," I nodded. "Besides, you're not the only one without an alibi. Team Escape?"

"I can confirm that everyone in Team Escape stayed together." Diamond answered. "Yesterday, we were in the locked door room, trying to figure out how to _un_lock it."

"So that means the only people unaccounted for in that time are, Merigold, because of getting a book, and Lava, Sage, and Cloud, because they aren't in Team Escape _or _involved in the team building activities." Azure brought up.

"I'll have you know that I was actually with Lava and Cloud yesterday," Sage revealed, looking as composed as ever. "I needed their features to use for a drawing reference."

"I only went along with it because he promised he wouldn't talk to me…" Lava murmured.

"I-I just wanted to be nice." Cloud blushed.

"So the translator could be the killer after all!" Royal smugly smirked. "Case closed."

"Yeah, no…" I sighed. "Unlike today, we don't know what happened after party planning. So anyone could've taken the Mono Pod after we were done with all of our activities for the day."

There was a very slim chance that the killer took the Mono Pod today.

There's also a very slim chance they took it yesterday in the morning and during the setup of the party. But, yesterday, after we separated from each other to do our own thing before and after dinner, _anyone _could've taken it.

Furthermore, anyone could've taken it before yesterday…

Oh shit, I'm lost…

What now?

Sensing my worries, Azure looked at me and smiled. "You got this, Crimson! Just carefully think about the clues we have so far to figure out what to discuss next."

I nodded. "Right."

I closed my eyes and thought.

We talked about the murder weapon…

We discussed the time of the murder…

We didn't talk about...

How did the murder happen!

"We need to find out how exactly the murder happened." I brought up. "I'm still lost on a couple of things…"

"How the murder happened?" Noir repeated. "Ummmm, I thought he was poisoned?"

"Well, yeah, we know that part," I nodded. "But _how_ did it _happen_? Like, what drink did the killer use to poison him, how did they give it to him and make him drink it, how did they go into and exit the announcement room without any of us noticing?" I clarified.

"Wowzers, a lot of questions…" Noir remarked, scratching her head. "Can we really answer them all?"

"Hell yeah." I nodded. "Everything we answer is one step closer to finding out who the killer is!"

"Well, if we're going to talk about how the killer put their poison in Silver's drink, shouldn't there be an obvious suspect?" Merigold commented.

"Who're you thinking of?" Rose inquired.

"Well, like Cotton, I hate to point fingers, but I can't deny that **Mauve is suspicious**," Merigold explained. "He _is _the one who made all the drinks at the party, after all." She reminded.

Mauve did not look phased. "I can understand how you could think that. But I assure you, I had nothing to do with Silver's murder."

"Well, as with Royal, we're going to need more concrete evidence," Diamond told him. "Not just your word."

"Well for one, how dumb would I have to be to volunteer to make drinks if I knew I was going to kill someone via poison?" Mauve questioned. "That'd just place all the blame on me, like what's happening right now."

"Good point, but still not enough to not suspect you." Frost said.

Mauve thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I can't think of anything else that'd help my case…"

The room grew quiet again.

I desperately wanted to say something in Mauve's defense, but I couldn't think of anything…

I knew in my heart he wasn't guilty, but there was no other evidence to back me up if I started to say anything…

"Mauve could've made the poisoned drink at any time during the party, and no one would've noticed…" Cotton sadly frowned, seemingly not happy to be accusing Mauve.

"Then he snuck into the announcement room, gave the drink to Silver, and made him drink it…" Diamond continued.

"Finally, he snuck back into the dining room like nothing ever happened." Emerald sighed.

"I for one am satisfied," Royal smirked. "What a simple ending to a story we thought was so complicated."

"If you vote for me, I guarantee you'll be wrong." Mauve claimed, crossing his arms. "And we'll all be punished."

"_Puh-lease_ you're just trying to scare us," Royal sneered. "C'mon guys, let's start the voting and knock this loser off the island!"

"M-Mauve really did it?" Cloud asked.

"No way, I think he's innocent!" Rose spoke up, surprisingly. I thought that she hated Mauve for beating her in cards…

"And what's your argument, flower girl?" Royal inquired, staring intently at the Ultimate Prodigy.

Rose immediately looked flustered. "W-well, because, I just don't think he'd do something like that…" She answered in a meek tone.

"Not a good enough defense." Royal sighed. "Remember, you were all so quick to accuse me but I provided evidence to prove my innocence. Now Mauve has none and you all don't want to think he's guilty?"

"That's because you're a roach and Mauve's actually a nice guy…" I heard Scarlet mutter.

"Well if you all want to die, then fine, I suppose we could consider other people besides Mauve, even though he's clearly the one most capable of being the killer." Royal frowned.

"Maybe she's right…" Onyx suddenly said. "I don't want her to be, but it does make sense."

"M-maybe this isn't as hard as we thought it was…" Indigo suggested. "Maybe it really was the person who had the easiest access to the drinks?"

"He _did _also know Silver's favorite drink," Emerald brought up. "Maybe he slipped it a peach bellini so Silver would drink it without question?"

I looked at Mauve, who simply stood with his arms crossed, not saying a word.

Damn it!

There's no way Mauve's the killer, I just know it.

I can tell when someone is acting, and Mauve is serious about not killing Silver.

But how do I prove it to everyone?!

They're all ganging up on him…

"Mauve isn't the killer." I said, with my best poker face. "He can't be"

"And why do you say that?" Royal questioned, sassily turning to me while flipping her hair.

"Well…" I started. "I, um, have evidence that he's not!"

"And what might that be?" Sunrise questioned, stepping into the argument. "You've been awfully quiet, why are you speaking up now?"

"I just remembered, that's all." I explained.

"Ugh, remembered _what_?!" Royal demanded. "You're just stalling for time here! Mauve is the killer, whether you like it or not."

_**Non-Stop Argument**_

"That card dealer guy is the killer, no doubt about it!" Royal accused, pointing her manicured fingers at poor Mauve.

"**You couldn't be any more wrong**, Royal…" Mauve sighed, shaking his head disappointedly.

"I don't want it to be him, **but it does make sense**…" Emerald sadly frowned.

"Aw, why couldn't it be someone like **Royal or Sunrise**?" Cotton groaned, pouting.

"**Fuck off**, little shit." Sunrise sneered.

"Face it, Crimson, **you have no evidence to prove Mauve didn't kill the TV Host**." Royal smirked.

"This has been the trial of the century!" Noir claimed. "I'm glad it's going to an end, though!"

"This isn't **right **at all…" Rose whispered under her breath, glancing at Mauve.

_**Lie Bullet: Sage & Sunrise's Argument, fired!**_

"Time to get into character!"

_**BREAK!**_

"I was right next to Mauve during the entirety of Sage and Sunrise's argument!" I said confidently. "We even laughed about it when Sage pushed Sunrise, because of how stupid we thought they were being."

"What?" Sage raised a brow. "I thought you yourself said that you were all so focused on our argument that you didn't see the killer escape, but you were able to notice Mauve?"

"Well, I mean yeah," I chuckled. "He was right next to me, after all. I wasn't _that _hammered that I didn't notice him…"

Mauve immediately shot me a look, almost as if to say: "What the hell are you doing?"

But I simply shook my head and gave him a look that said: "Shhh, just let it happen…"

"And why didn't you mention this earlier?" Royal angrily questioned.

"I just remembered," I explained. "My mind was still a little foggy from the alcohol, y'know."

"So, that settles it." Rose nodded. "Crimson saw Mauve the entire time while Sage and Sunrise were arguing, so he couldn't have snuck away to kill Silver."

"Yes, exactly." Mauve nodded with a perfect poker face. "I also just remembered."

Royal glared suspiciously at us. "Hmph, whatever. At least we know that card dealer and I are off the killer list…"

I breathed a sigh of relief. That was a close one!

As good as it was that Mauve was in the clear, we still have no suspects…

Or so I thought.

"Crimson, you realized it too, right?" Azure asked me with a sad smile. "Turns out Royal accusing Mauve wasn't such a waste of time after all, huh?"

Huh?

Realized what?

Why would Mauve being accused not be considered a waste of time when I know there's no way he did it?

What the hell is Azure trying to tell me?!

_**Hangman's Gambit **_

"Why was Mauve accused in the first place?"

?-?-?-?-?-? ?-?-?-?-?-?

_Azure's saying that Mauve being accused __**wasn't **__a waste of time…_

M-?-?-?-?-? ?-?-?-?-?-?

_But how? I had to lie to prove his innocence..._

M-A-?-?-?-? ?-?-?-?-?

_Uh-oh, I wonder if Azure's going to call me out…_

M-A-K-?-?-? ?-?-?-?-K-?

_Focus, Seizo! Let's get back on track…_

M-A-K-I-?-? ?-?-I-?-K-?

_Maybe Royal's accusation of Mauve makes her suspicious again?_

M-A-K-I-N-? ?-?-I-N-K-?

_Ugh, that's not it, there's no way she can be the killer; remember dumbass?_

M-A-K-I-N-G ?-?-I-N-K-?

_Hm, Merigold's the one who initially accused him…_

M-A-K-I-N-G D-?-I-N-K-?

_Wait, no...It's not Merigold that Azure's telling me about…_

M-A-K-I-N-G D-R-I-N-K-?

_It's...__**her**__._

**Answer**: MAKING DRINKS

_**BREAK! **_

"N-no, Azure...It can't be…" I sniffed. "There's no way…"

"I'm sorry, Crimson, but think about it," Azure sighed, his usual joyful expression replaced with one of despair. "It makes sense…"

"What the fuck are you two dumbasses talking about?" Sunrise frowned. "We all need to know, this isn't a game."

I couldn't get the words out the right way...I was in so much disbelief.

But Azure's comment made it feel all too truthful.

Mauve was accused for making the drinks...one of which poisoned Silver. But I know he didn't do it! Mauve is smarter than that, and he had no reason to try and kill anyone. Plus, I'm actually starting to remember Mauve being there during Sage and Sunrise's argument. Now right next to me like I said, but nearby so I could see him the entire time.

But someone else helped him make the drinks…

Someone who has reason to kill and get out of here…

Most importantly, someone who'd benefit from the **Savior Perk**.

I'm sorry, I did this to you…

_**Accuse**__: Who could've killed Silver?_

Crimson

**Scarlet **

Diamond

Frost

Mauve

Rose

Azure

Sunrise

Cloud/Shadow

_Silver _

Emerald

Noir

Merigold

Cotton

Lava

Onyx

Cherry

Indigo

Sage

Royal

_**DECIDE**_: **Scarlet**

"The show's over!"

"Scarlet…" I sighed, turning to my left. "You helped Mauve make the drinks…"

"Which means you could've easily poisoned Silver." Sunrise finished, coming to the same realization as Azure and I.

Scarlet looked at me with wide eyes. "C-Crimson, I…"

Then her light blue eyes started to water...

And she started to cry

Just like she'd been doing since we found Silver's body.

* * *

_A/N_: **New chapter time! The first part of the trial! This one is considerably shorter than what the next one will be ;)**

**So, a lot of bombshells were dropped, and Crimson, Azure, and Sunrise all think Scarlet is Silver's killer!**

**Stay tuned for the next one!**


	14. The Fool and Her Groom (Part 8) (Final)

The Fool and Her Groom (Part 8) (_**Deadly Life**__) (_Final)

* * *

I stared in shock at the Ultimate Modern Dancer, one of the people who I've grown quite close to during my time in this place.

_She _killed Silver?

But why?! I never would've expected this type of thing from her; she seemed like such a good person, not someone capable of murder!

…

Tch, who am I kidding…?

I know who is to blame.

**Monokuma**…

And **me**.

If Monokuma had never given us that motive…

_"Yup, that's right!" Monokuma nodded. "The Savior Perk is like a one for two deal! Kill one classmate, and escape with you and someone else for free! In other words, kill someone, and you can take someone else with you back home to Earth!"_

And if I had never made that promise...

_"I mean, I'll help you." I said again. "Once we get out of here, me and my family will cover the costs of your mom's car accident, and we'll help you deal with Okane Loans."_

_Scarlet's eyes widened and she quickly shook her head. "N-no, it's fine! You don't have to!"_

_"But I want to." I smiled. "You seem more than deserving of a break from the stress."_

_"But you've just me," Scarlet stated in disbelief. "How do you know I'm deserving?"_

_"I have a good sense about people," I replied. "And ever since I've met you, I've felt good vibes from you. I can tell you're a good person."_

Then she probably would've never done what she did if I hadn't made that stupid fucking promise. This is all my fault, but now Scarlet is the one paying for it?

"So it was Scarlet all this time?" Royal questioned. "Figures that she'd be desperate enough to kill the TV host and leave."

"Scarlet?" Emerald said, her gaze set on the blonde. "It wasn't you...right?"

"B-but why?" Cloud sniffed, wrapping his arms around himself for protection. "Why would she do something like that?"

"_Un resultado terrible_." Merigold frowned, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Like I said before, why couldn't it have been Sunrise or Royal?" Cotton muttered, crossing his arms.

The eyes of all my classmates were on Scarlet who silently cried and clinged to her trial stand. I could see her start to breathe heavily, and noticed sweat starting to form on her forehead.

FUCK!

I can't do this...I need-

"Some help." Sunrise sneered. "You're acting like a little bitch right now, Crimson. Need some help?" He questioned in a snide tone.

As much as I hated to ask for help, I needed it right now. And y'know what: Sunrise was the perfect guy to be able to be harsh with Scarlet and get her to confess to her crimes. So I nodded, avoiding eye contact with Scarlet, who stood right next to me.

"Fine, but don't get too comfortable, I'm not going to do all the work for you." He huffed. "First things first, what makes you say the stripper is the killer?"

"Call her a stripper one more time." Merigold threatened, glaring at Sunrise.

Sunrise simply rolled his eyes and ignored the Ultimate Translator.

I took a deep breath. "W-well, Azure is the one who reminded me. Scarlet helped make drinks with Mauve earlier tonight."

Mauve nodded. "Yes, that's right, but I was with her or at the bar table almost the entire time, so she couldn't have put the poison in."

"_Almost_." I repeated with a sigh. "There was one part of the night when you were away from the bar table _and _Scarlet, which would allow her to poison the drink that killed Silver…"

_Mauve sighed, stepping out from behind the 'bar making' table and pulling Azure by the hand towards me. _

_"Here, talk to him and resolve your issues." Mauve said, going back to the table. _

"I see…" Mauve frowned.

"That would've given her plenty of time to put the poison in the drink!" Royal stated confidently.

"I'm sorry," Azure sighed. "If I wasn't so drunk Mauve wouldn't have had to pull me away."

"Don't blame yourself," Diamond insisted. "It is not you who committed murder."

"Scarlet…" Emerald sadly frowned, before turning to me with an angry face. "Well, is that really your only evidence?! I don't know about you, but I'm not going to vote for my friend as a killer just because she 'could have' but the poison in Silver's drink!"

I grimaced, glancing at the floor, feeling like I couldn't get any words out of my mouth.

"Come on, Crimson." Sunrise demanded. "Think about it. There's something that was off about Scarlet during the investigation; something a guilty person would be guilty of."

What? Something a guilty person would be guilty of?

I thought for a second, thinking about all the evidence I had compiled so far.

_**Question: What was suspicious about Scarlet during the investigation?**_

**Truth Bullet: Scarlet's Crying, chosen! **

"Haha, got it in one take!"

"You're talking about...her crying, right?" I frowned, feeling awful for bringing up something like this.

Sunrise nodded. "Obviously. Everyone saw those tears and how she wasn't doing shit to help investigate."

"Hey, she was just sad about Silver!" Cherry protested, before slowly backing down. "...Or so I thought…"

"Tch, those were fucking crocodile tears." Sunrise claimed. "She wanted everyone to think about how helpless and depressed she was over Silver so they wouldn't suspect a thing."

"But it appears that it's backfiring on her…" Sage commented.

Scarlet was still quiet, looking down at the ground with her eyes closed.

"Well, that's still not enough!" Cotton argued. "What other evidence do you have?"

Evidence…

Evidence…

Evidence…?

Wait…

_**Non-Stop Argument **_

"Come on, everyone knows the basis of any good accusation is **cold, hard, evidence**!" Cotton insisted. "And I'm just not seeing it in this case!"

"You accused me over **being the first to discover the body**…" Royal angrily glared at Cotton.

"Scarlet **can't be the killer**…" Indigo sniffed. "She's been **so nice**…"

"It's always the nice ones, y'know!" Noir sighed.

"This is kind of sucky," Onyx groaned. "It's either we vote for Scarlet or we're done for…"

"Don't be ridiculous." Sunrise frowned. "If it's not Scarlet then we'll just find out it's **someone else**."

"I really hope it isn't her," Emerald remarked, sadly shaking her head and looking at Scarlet. "I mean, **is there any way she's innocent**?"

_**Truth Bullet: Poisoned Drink, FIRED! **_

"I agree with that!"

"Let's explore the truth together!"

_**BREAK!**_

"Wait, Emerald!" I exclaimed. "You might be onto something!"

"What are you doing, Crimson?" Sunrise inquired, crossing his arms and not looking too happy.

"Really?" Emerald asked with a quizzical frown on her face. "What happened to your Scarlet poisoned Silver's drink theory?"

"I have a new one," I revealed. "One that makes a lot more sense than Scarlet randomly poisoning Silver's drink!"

"Really?" Azure asked in surprise. "Then let's hear it!"

"Well, it's kind of a work in progress theory…" I nervously laughed. "But, um, remember that poisoned drink that we found?"

Azure and Rose nodded.

"Yes, it was a peach bellini." Rose affirmed.

_I can think of a very important peach bellini that we found during the investigation… _

_**Question: What's the important peach bellini?**_

**Truth Bullet: Poisoned Drink, chosen!**

"Haha, got it in one take!"

"That's it…" I realized. Scarlet had no reason to kill Silver...but someone else.

She unfortunately still tried to kill someone, but her plan didn't work…

Considering **he's **still standing.

"Scarlet, I think I figured it out." I said, giving her a sad frown.

She finally looked up from her podium, tears in her eyes and a pained expression on her face. "...I was stupid...and selfish…"

"No," I protested. "You were just blinded...by rage."

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" Onyx frowned.

"Yeah, is Scarlet the killer or not?" Royal groaned.

"It's OK, Crimson…" Scarlet reassured, patting me on the shoulder. "Tell them what I did…"

I nodded. "Right."

I need to prove to everyone that Scarlet _isn't _the killer, but rather _a _killer…

Well, actually an _attempted _killer!

Or, in other terms, a _possible _killer!

Or in-

"Are you going to reveal your theory or what you asshole?"' Sunrise glared.

"Oh, uh, yeah!" I nodded. "Here goes,"

_**Double Feature **_

_Alas! It's on Crimson, who will use his skills as an actor (involved in many murder mystery TV shows and movies) to tell a story within this story! _

_Seriously, these chumps are leaving it on the freaking Ultimate Actor to solve this crime?! I know none of them have any real detective or lawyer experience, but c'mon, Crimson of all people?!_

_Ahem, anyways...In this special mini game, "Double Feature", Crimson will tell his fellow classmates the story of what he's trying to tell them. He'll have to use various truth bullets to complete the story, in order to back up his claims. If all truth bullets are successfully used in the right order, then his classmates will believe him! But if he screws up, which honestly wouldn't surprise me, then there'll be a little bit of doubt…_

_PS. We ~cleverly~ named this mini game "Double Feature" since if you think about it, Crimson is __**telling a story**__ in the story he's__** already in**__. Trippy, huh?_

I cleared my throat.

"Ahem, allow me to begin…" I started.

"This is a tale of love and hatred, two sides of the same tarnished coin...Our three characters in this messy tale are:

Scarlet, a hapless maiden full of captivating beauty and grace who uses her dance moves to express the feelings inside her heart. Despite her happy and friendly demeanor, however, she harbors a dark secret that could destroy her life if word got out…

The next of this miserable trio is Silver, a man whose shrouded in mystery, but never seems to be outright suspicious to anyone...this is more than likely due to the smile constantly on his face, and the warm tone he consistently speaks with…

Lastly, the despicable villain in this tale…

…

…

…

(At last, my affinity for dramatic pauses has finally come to good use! The look on everyone's faces are priceless!)

**Sunrise**! The wretched pilot of the plane of hurt and agony, who directs all his rage towards poor Scarlet! He's feared by so many people that the mere mention of his name is enough to send a baby into a coma!

Our story begins and ends on just one night…

Scarlet grabbed a laundry pod (**Mono Pods Warning**) from the laundry room intending to kill Sunrise. She put it in a peach bellini (**Poisoned Drink**), Sunrise and Silver's favorite drink, hoping for Sunrise to grab it. Unfortunately he never did, Silver died from another drink (**Noir's Account**) entirely, and now we're here!"

"This is the final cut!"

_**BREAK!**_

…

…

…

"What...the hell was that?" Onyx deadpanned, the expression on his face completely revolted.

"I...have never experienced something so strange." Diamond remarked, sweat forming on her forehead. She looked quite lightheaded.

Indigo and Cloud said nothing, but were currently sobbing.

"What's wrong, guys?" I frowned. "I've always wanted to take my chances at writing a movie some day!"

"That ending…" Cherry sniffed, tears falling from her eyes. "It was so..._anticlimactic_!"

"I think I will drown my ears out with espresso after this…" Frost nodded, already caressing his ears in preparation.

"Enough to put babies into a coma…?" Mauve repeated, scratching his head in thought. "Maybe Crimson's still a little drunk…"

"You guys didn't like it?" I inquired, a sad frown on my face. "But I poured all my heart and soul into this literary work!"

"I think you should stick to being _in front _of the cameras…" Royal remarked, her skin pale as she shook off the supposed horror that my story brought her.

"I may have to go back to the infirmary after this…" Cotton gulped.

"...I liked it." Lava shrugged. "It was far from a masterpiece, but enjoyable nonetheless. A solid 6/10." She finished with a nod.

"Now we're giving out ratings?!" Rose gasped.

"Hm, I see potential in you as an artist." Sage admitted, coolly closing his eyes and nodding. "A 7/10 performance!"

Yes! A 6 and a 7 adds up to a total of 13/10! I'm on fire with my directorial debut! And I came up with it in the middle of a trial, no less!

Oh shit…

_Middle of a trial-_

"Can you dumbasses cut the crap and get back on track?" Sunrise groaned. "Or have you forgotten that all of our lives are on the line?"

"Yeah, explain in simpler terms what the hell you're trying to say, Crimson!" Emerald demanded.

I sighed. "You're right...Sorry." I nodded.

"Anyways," I continued. "I think I know the reason why Scarlet's so mopey. It's not because she killed Silver...or anyone, really. It's because she _tried _to kill someone. Sunrise, to be more specific..."

"Sunrise?" Noir repeated. "What makes you say that? We're in the trial of _Silver's _murder, not Sunrise's.

"I'm well aware." I nodded. "However, Sunrise does play a part a part in proving Scarlet's **innocence**."

"So hold on a second…" Onyx frowned. "You are now saying that the dancer is innocent?"

"Yeah, weren't you just accusing her like five minutes ago?" Frost inquired in a confused tone.

"Y-yes…" I replied with a blush. "But I was wrong…"

"Woah, talk about anticlimactic." Cherry sighed.

Sunrise finally met my gaze. "What are you saying, Crimson? Are you honestly suggesting that Scarlet tried to off me?"

I nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying, _and _what truly happened. The facts are pretty clear."

"Yes." Scarlet spoke up, also meeting Sunrise's gaze. "It's all true..."

"Well, obviously she's saying that!" Royal snarled. "She's just trying to confuse us so she can get away with killing Silver!"

"That's not true." Scarlet insisted, her tone stern. "I tried to kill Sunrise..."

"I'm so lost!" Cotton cried. "I'm supposed to be the super smart Ultimate Escapist but this case has had me stumped ever since my Royal is the killer theory died out…"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, you just came back from a coma." Indigo nervously giggled.

"I'll explain," Scarlet nodded, closing her eyes. "It's the least I can do for all the trouble and confusion I've caused…"

She cleared her throat, finally standing up straight and addressing all of us at once.

"It's no secret why I wanted to kill Sunrise," She started, a pained expression on her face. "He's supposed to be our leader, but has done nothing but belittle us…"

_"We're all going to do our part to help," Scarlet frowned. "I don't see why you have to complain about every minor inconvenience."_

_"Fuck off," Sunrise rolled his eyes. "I didn't ask for your opinion." _

_"Hey, back off," I quickly intervened. "You don't have to be a douchebag when she's just stating the truth. You've been complaining this entire time."_

_"Why the hell are you talking for her?" Sunrise sneered. "Are you her puppet master or some shit?"_

_"No, he's just not a roach like you," Scarlet answered. "Some people here actually want try to be friends with each other instead of pushing other people away with their awful personalities."_

_Sunrise simply rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Whatever, I could care less about the opinion of a stripper." What a fucking dickhead, modern dancer isn't a code word for stripper…_

"He made me feel so belittled…" Scarlet continued. "He reminded me of all the roaches I dealt with in my life...but then, worst of all: I had to take orders from him…"

_"Says who?" Scarlet frowned. "We don't have to listen to a word you guys say."_

_"Oh yeah you do," Sunrise smirked. "According to our pilot."_

Scarlet gripped onto her stand tightly, almost like she was about to fall off. "But still! I listened, and I did what I was told to."

_"It's not in the e-Handbook, but Sunrise has ordered us to make sure everyone is in the dining room by 8:00. And disobeying his rules will get you killed. Plus, he lent us his room key, and said we could use force if necessary..." Scarlet replied, twirling said room key in her hands. I could tell it was killing her to refer to Sunrise as an authority figure, but I could also tell that she just wanted Shadow to shut the fuck up so Sunrise wouldn't bitch at her later. _

"But it wasn't enough…" Scarlet sighed, sounding dejected. "He still treated me and everyone else like we were his own personal slaves, that he ordered around to do whatever."

_Sunrise opened his eyes and he instantly glared at Scarlet. "What do you want? You should be working, not fooling around."_

_"I have been working," Scarlet yelled. "We all have. Meanwhile, you've been sitting down doing nothing but barking orders!"_

_Sunrise rolled his eyes. "I've been doing nothing but barking orders, huh? I guess personally getting all these supplies doesn't count as something..." He said, gesturing to all the supplies Monokuma had given him. _

_"Oh, please," Scarlet scoffed. "That took five seconds. We've been setting up for hours. We deserve a break!"_

_Sunrise stood up and faced Scarlet, his face inches from hers. "If you want a break, then fine. Be my guest."_

_Scarlet glared at Sunrise for a few seconds more before she turned away and stormed out of the dining room. _

_I frowned as Sunrise smirked. "That girl's feisty, huh?" He asked me. _

"So...I had to do something." Scarlet finished. "We were all suffering at the hands of a dictator! I took the laundry pod and watched Sunrise all night, picking up on his favorite drink. What Crimson said is true, I poisoned a peach bellini, hoping Sunrise would drink it...but he didn't. And Silver somehow died instead."

We were all speechless.

Scarlet tried to kill Sunrise for his bad behavior?

But-

"You're a lying bitch!" Royal scoffed, reaching over me to point at Scarlet. "You tried to kill Sunrise to save us from 'a dictator'?! Are you forgetting that we would all die too?!"

"I didn't know about the punishment until _after _Monokuma told us just a few hours ago." Scarlet retorted. "_None _of us knew."

Royal gritted her teeth, pulling back her hand. "Well, still! You're not the sweet, quiet girl everyone thinks you are, you're a stone cold bitch for trying to kill Sun-"

"Stop, Royal." Sunrise suddenly spoke up. During Scarlet's confession, he had his head down and his eyes closed. Now, he was looking at Scarlet with his eyes open.

Which were…

Filled with tears…

"I don't need your protection." He continued. "I'm the one and only Ultimate fucking Pilot!"

We all stayed quiet, watching the two as they looked at each other.

Scarlet said not a word, holding her ground and confidently standing against Sunrise.

Sunrise's face was red, and as aforementioned, his eyes were watery. He wasn't bawling his eyes out or anything, but the tears were prevalent in his blue eyes.

It was the most emotional I've ever seen the ginger.

"Look…" Sunrise started. His voice was shaky. "I...I'm sorry."

Wowww, that's probably the biggest plot twist in this case. Sunrise? Sorry?

"I should've known how words can hurt you," He continued, narrowing his eyes and speaking in a quiet tone. "It was shitty of me to take the role of leader and then abuse it. Tch, that's clearer than ever considering Scarlet tried to fucking off me...I can't take back anything I've said or done, but I can apologize and...**promise to be a better man**."

"A better man, hm?" Sage repeated. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Shut the fuck up..._Sage_." Sunrise retorted. Amazingly, Sunrise didn't follow up his demand with a demeaning nickname and instead called Sage by his real name! Er, uh, _code _name. And earlier, instead of calling Scarlet a stripper, he just called her Scarlet. I'm impressed.

"Thank you for the apology, but…" Scarlet sighed. "You're not the one to blame in this situation. It is ultimately me who almost killed you."

Sunrise stayed silent.

"I was a fool…" Scarlet said with a hollow laugh. "Ending the life of another to escape and protect everyone else? Sounds like a bad movie trope to me…"

Sunrise smirked. "I think we're all fools here. We're playing this stupid ass killing game after all. But y'know what, Scarlet? You trying to kill me hasn't been all that bad. I think this whole thing has groomed me into being a better leader. If you guys still want a douchebag like me to lead you guys, that is."

Once again, it was silent in the trial room. Shit, I didn't even have to say anything for the past few minutes because Scarlet and Sunrise have been doing all the talking.

This surprisingly peaceful resolution was overshadowed by our unsurprising, daunting task.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Monokuma frowned, waving his paws around like crazy. "This lovey dovey business has been going on for far too long! Are you guys forgetting that you have a _murder _to solve?"

"True." Merigold sighed. "I had almost forgotten we're stuck in this awful situation…"

"..." Scarlet's face was flushed. "Lovey...dovey?"

Sunrise was less flustered but clearly embarrassed. "Such a dumbass comment…"

"Exactly!" Royal nodded, putting her hands on her hips. "_I_ am the queen of this group, not Miss Dye Job over here…"

"I'm still confused about something…" Emerald brought up. "I hate to sound so stupid, but I just want to know something; Scarlet, if you weren't crying because you felt guilty about killing Silver, then _why _were you crying?"

Scarlet sighed. "It was the guilt of realizing what I almost did. No matter how much of a roach Sunrise might have been, no one's life deserves to end at the hands of another. Plus, I was still sad about Silver, as we had gotten rather close due to being partners together…"

Partners…

Hm…

"I think we should at last decide what drink killed Silver." I said, pounding my fist on the table. "This has gone on for far too long: let's catch this killer!"

_**Non-Stop Argument**_

"Mauve prepared so many drinks tonight," Rose commented. "It's **almost impossible **to decide which one it was!"

"There were **peach bellinis**, of course…" Sunrise started.

"**Strawberry daiquiris**…" Azure continued.

"**Margaritas**…" Onyx said.

"Don't forget the **bottle of Long Island iced tea** I prepared." Mauve reminded.

"Oh, and the **cherry bomb**," Cherry beamed. "My favorite!"

"The **espresso martini** was quite good, though I believe I could have brewed the espresso a little better." Frost coolly smiled.

"Ah, yes, and the **bloody mary**." Diamond brought up.

"I think the last one would be the **virgin drink** Mauve made special for me," Cotton nodded. "But since there was only one I guess it's impossible for it to have killed Silver…"

"It's no use; this is hopeless…" Indigo sniffed.

"**So many drinks**…" Lava remarked.

_**Truth Bullet: Pre-Made Drinks, Fired!**_

"I agree with that!"

"It seems the cards are in my favor today…"

_**BREAK!**_

"That's it!" I exclaimed, realization hitting me like a truck.

"What's it?" Royal frowned.

"It's so obvious I should've realized sooner," I groaned, face palming.

"Realized _what_?" Royal continued, starting to get mad. If she really wanted to, she could easily hit me right now!

"The poison," I explained. "I know what it is…"

"Really?" Mauve asked in slight surprise. "Which one of my drinks did someone tarnish?"

"You haven't realized it yet, Mauve?" I smirked. "I'm surprised. It's the only drink no one drank tonight...The **Long Island iced tea**."

"What's a Long Island?" Cotton wondered aloud.

"I didn't see anything like that available to drink," Onyx admitted. "Was it really on the bar table the whole time?"

I nodded. "Yes, but unlike the rest of the drinks, it was still in its bottle.

"_Yesterday," He answered. "I made a bottle of Long Island iced tea, just to brush up on my drink mixing before the party."_

"_Long Island iced tea?" I repeated. "I can't remember anyone drinking that tonight…"_

_Mauve shook his head. "For some reason it smelt a little weird and no one wanted to try it." He shrugged. "At least my other drinks were a hit."_

"Oh, _that _despicable drink." Sage nodded. "When Mauve made me smell it, I was so repulsed I took it from him and placed it at the very back of the table, where no one would ever have to deal with it."

"I believe I also smelt it." Frost affirmed. "No offense to Mauve, but it was...absolutely terribly disgusting, to say the least."

Mauve shrugged. "I don't care, I probably used expired alcohol or something."

"No, Mauve, _you _did everything perfectly," I reassured. "But it was our killer who screwed up your drink. With the **poison**, to be exact!"

"A-are you saying the poison was what made the iced tea smell b-bad?" Cloud inquired.

"I'm sure of it." I nodded. "Looking back, think about if someone mixed laundry detergent into an already pretty heavy drink full of alcohol and syrups. It'd make it smell all sorts of weird, which I think is exactly the case with the Long Island Iced Tea!"

"I'm sure if we were to go back and smell the poisoned peach bellini, we'd also notice a peculiar smell." Azure theorized.

Scarlet nodded. "Yes...I did notice a strange smell after I poisoned the drink. Again, I'm very sorry about that!"

"So it's settled," I smiled. "The poisoned drink was the Long Island iced te-"

"**Let me shed some light on the **_**actual **_**truth.**"

Who the hell?

I turned and saw Cloud frowning at me with his arms crossed.

No…

Not Cloud.

**Shadow**.

"Nice of you to make an appearance, buddy." I mumbled, rolling my eyes. "When the hell did you even get here?"

"I knocked Cloud out as soon as he asked that stupid ass question." Shadow sneered. "I had to see what the fuck he was talking about. And I must say, I'm thoroughly disappointed in your dumbass."

"Pray tell." I insisted.

"Are you that fucking dense? The Long Island Iced Tea that we're just now hearing about is the murder weapon?" Shadow scoffed. "That makes as much sense as Royal being a natural ginger."

"H-hey!" Royal yelled, her face turning red.

"I'm going to prove you wrong and put you in your place, D-lister." Shadow smirked.

Tch, this guy's just wasting my time!

Still, I have to shut this demon down!

_**Rebuttal Showdown **_

"You're really fucking stupid, y'know that?

There's an obvious drink that killed Silver that you guys aren't thinking about.

Besides, think about it, would the killer really have been that stupid enough to just leave their murder weapon out in the open like that?" Shadow said.

"The killer probably knew that no one would try the drink due to its terrible smell, so they had no problems leaving it out in the open.

Besides, it's not as if they could just hide it in the kitchen since it closes at Night Time!" I rebutted.

_**ADVANCE!**_

"Yeah, whatever; the Long Island iced tea _wasn't _the murder weapon.

You're forgetting about a very obvious drink that you guys _actually _saw Silver drink:

**The peach bellini he drank after the trivia game was over**!

I can't believe you're really that stupid.

It probably wasn't the best idea to have the fucking Ultimate Actor lead this trial…" Shadow confidently stated.

_**Truth Bullet: Mono Pods Warning, fired!**_

"_Cut_!"

_**BREAK!**_

"Ah, Shadow…" I sighed. "I also thought that might be a possibility."

"It's not just a fucking possibility; it's what happened." Shadow glared. "He drank the peach bellini, and the poison slowly worked its way through his system, and he died after entering the announcement room."

"You are sorely mistaken, Peter Pan's shadow." I shook my head.

"And why is that?" He asked in an angry tone.

"Because," I started. "The poisonous effects of the Mono Pods occur just **one minute **after ingestion. I didn't keep track of the exact time after Silver took a sip of the drink, but I'm sure it was more than a minute before he went into the announcement room."

_"All four teams are tied! We're all winners!" Silver announced, taking a drink from one of the table and toasting it._

_"NO!" Onyx protested. "We're all losers!"_

_"This blows..." Emerald sniffed. "I wanted our team to win..."_

_"Do we still get a prize?" Noir asked Silver, looking up at him with pleading eyes. _

_Silver chuckled. "Yes, yes. of course. I just need to get it from the announcement room."_

_Silver went towards the announcement room to fetch our prize, and we were left to converse amongst ourselves. All of our conversation was normal and light hearted like it had been for the duration of the night, until I heard a yell. _

"By my calculations, the time Silver, Onyx, Emerald, and Noir spent talking, and the time it took Silver to walk to the door was more than a minute." I said with a smirk. "And Silver looked perfectly fine as he walked to and entered the announcement room. So in conclusion, it's impossible that it was the peach bellini that killed him!"

"Tch, whatever." Shadow rolled his eyes.

"_Anyways_, like I said before, the killer poisoned the Long Island iced tea and hid it in plain sight, knowing that no one would drink it. Then, they poured a glass and served it to Silver in the announcement room, killing him." I concluded.

"Sounds spot on to me," Azure nodded with his signature smile. "But we're still left with the unfortunate question of who actually did it."

"I don't understand how the killer was able to sneak the poison into that entire bottle." Mauve frowned. "It was either on the bar table or my serving tray the entire time."

"And you didn't leave the bar table except for one time unattended." Scarlet reminded us. "And trust me, I didn't do anything to it."

"So when the hell did the killer mess with the drink?" Emerald frustratingly questioned.

I think I know the answer to this…

_**Question: When did the killer poison the drink?**_

_Today_

_11037 Years Ago_

_**Yesterday**_

"Haha, got it in one take!"

_**Answer: Yesterday **_

"There's no doubt about it." I nodded. "It must have been yesterday."

"What makes you say that?" Noir questioned.

"I took out all of the bottles I prepared yesterday this morning, almost as soon as Diamond and Shadow checked in for bodyguard duty." Mauve explained.

"Yes, I watched him do so." Diamond nodded.

_"Sure," I nodded. "Anyways, I was just wondering about bodyguard duty...Mauve had prepared some drinks earlier today, right?"_

_Diamond nodded. "I assume so. There was already a bottle prepared in the fridge when Shadow and I started our shift, so yes, he could've made it earlier today."_

That lines up with what she told me.

I found Diamond a tiny bit suspicious when she told me about how Shadow/Cloud would pass out for about a minute when they switched. That would've given her time to poison the Long Island iced tea.

_But_, if Mauve took out the drinks as soon as the photoshoot choreographer and the occultist checked in for bodyguard duty, then she wouldn't have the opportunity.

That means it couldn't have been today!

"So, it _was _yesterday." Merigold repeated. "But still, do you know who would've had the opportunity?"

Opportunity…

_Opportunity_…

It had to be someone who could have grabbed the drink from the fridge…

Poisoned the drink…

And then put it back in the fridge for Mauve to grab this morning.

They then hid the drink in plain sight, knowing no one would drink it.

Finally, they snuck out during Sage and Sunrise's argument to give the drink to Silver…

**Killing him**.

Ugh, but I just don't get it!

The killer had to have gone through our bodyg-

Bodyguards.

Fuck.

I know who the killer is…

But I have no idea why someone like them would ever do something like this!

Could I be wrong?

No!

Don't doubt yourself, Seizo.

It's the only person who could've had an opportunity, since they were alone at the time…

I took a deep breath. This is it!

_**Accuse**_: Who killed Silver?

Crimson

Scarlet

Diamond

Frost

Mauve

Rose

Azure

Sunrise

Cloud/Shadow

_Silver _

Emerald

**Noir**

Merigold

Cotton

Lava

Onyx

Cherry

Indigo

Sage

Royal

_**DECIDE**_: **Noir**

"The show's over!"

"So?" Royal questioned. "Who is it?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty curious myself." Azure admitted.

I felt so lightheaded that I almost passed out.

Now's not the time to be feeling sick, Seizo…

We have to finish this!

"**Noir**." I called, pointing at the Ultimate Spy. "It was you, wasn't it?"

Noir looked at me with shock, quickly shaking her head. "N-no way! Why would you even joke about that, Crimson?" Noir sadly frowned. "I thought you were nicer than that!"

"_Please_, Noir." I cried. "Don't make this harder for me…"

"The little ginger girl did it?" Royal questioned, raising one of her perfectly manicured brows. "That doesn't seem possible; she's 5'5" and looks like a hyperactive puppy dog."

"U-um, thank you?" Noir nervously giggled.

"It's gotta be her." I sighed. "She's probably the only person who was alone with the drinks other than Mauve, who we already know isn't the killer."

"What time was that?" Sunrise questioned.

This should be easy, a certain someone told me this.

_**Question: When could have Noir poisoned the Long Island iced tea?**_

**Truth Bullet: A Star and the Sun by Edward Lane, chosen!**

"Way too easy…" I muttered.

"Merigold can help me out with this." I announced.

The Ultimate Translator in question nodded. "Yes...There was one time, yesterday, when Noir could've taken advantage of me not being in the kitchen with her."

She then recounted exactly what she told me in the rec room that led me to believe Noir was the killer in the first place:

_"It is," Merigold beamed. "Although, Lane just introduced a plot twist! Turns out, Dante was the assistant pilot of the plane!"_

_"Oh damn," I chuckled. "So now Lina 'hates his guts', right?"_

_Merigold laughed. "Yup!"_

_"You must really like that book," I noted. "You're like 3/4 of the way through already."_

_Merigold nodded. "Yes, and I just started it yesterday! After I was done with server duty, Sunrise made me replace Onyx as a bodyguard because he wanted 'his muscles' to help set up...Even though I explained to him he was breaking his own rule of not being a server and a bodyguard on the same day, he still made me do it! __**Of course, I wasn't going to just stand around with Noir talking my ear off, so I snuck away to the rec center, picked out a random book from the fictional section, and started reading it in the kitchen throughout the rest of the day. I guess there was a silver lining to being picked as a bodyguard that day, because if I wasn't, I never would've discovered this book!**__"_

"That's your only evidence?" Noir frowned, looking much more serious than I've ever seen her be. "I don't think it's really fair to decide I'm the killer based on one persons account."

"True," I nodded. "It's only fair that I find out how else you could be the killer…"

"Well, game on!" Noir declared, crossing her arms.

_**Non-Stop Argument**_

"Noir's the killer?" Onyx said. "That seems so **unlikely**."

"It's always the weird ones, they say." Azure thought aloud. "U-uh, I know I'm weird, but **I'm not the killer**!"

"I wonder what evidence Crimson can find." Cotton wondered. "It's going to be hard given how hard **this trial has already been**."

"Ugh, we already used up Sage and Sunrise's argument as an alibi." Cherry sighed. "What else is there to use?"

"Come to think of it, our argument was in the heat of the moment." Sunrise brought up. "If we're sticking to the theory that the killer used it as** a distraction to enter the announcement room**, what would they have done if we hadn't argued?"

"Glasses boy was the one to start the argument, maybe he is in **cahoots with the spy**." Royal suggested.

"Don't be an **idiot**." Sage muttered.

"Yeah, that's gotta be it!" Onyx agreed. "It's **the only possibility**!"

_**Truth Bullet: Loud & Long Song, fired!**_

"No that's wrong!"

_**BREAK!**_

"While Sage may be an accomplice to Silver's murder, I have a much more plausible theory." I said. "What if the loud and long song that was playing was _actually _meant to distract us? And Sage and Sunrise's argument was something completely unplanned by the killer?"

"That does make sense," Azure nodded. "The killer would've had no idea that Sage and Sunrise were going to argue, so it'd be bold of them to rely on something like that happening to use as a distraction."

"And before any of you get any dumb ideas, I'm _not _working in cahoots with anyone." Sage claimed. "I know the motive could open the opportunity up to people working together, but you'd have to be a fool to believe that the killer would keep their word of bringing you along with them back to Earth if you help them. The spy girl and I haven't even interacted since we've been here, so why would she choose me as an accomplice? Besides, I didn't count on the idiotic mind of Sunrise, which sparked the argument in the first place."

"So you _are _saying that it's your fault the argument started." Sunrise smirked.

"No, I'm saying that if you hadn't spill-" I quickly cut Sage off so as to avoid yet another argument between the two…

"_Anyways_," I sighed. "Noir most likely planned to use the loud and long song as a distraction."

"Completely untrue." Noir claimed, rolling her eyes.

"That was an awfully loud song…" Rose commented.

"And the fact that it was _still _playing after the investigation started?" Emerald frowned. "Definitely suspiciously long."

I nodded. "Yeah, and our killer had the perfect opportunity to put the song in the party playlist..."

_I took a deep breath before walking through the dining room door. _

_"Cotton!" Noir gasped when I entered. She was apart of Team Escape, and was currently picking songs to play during the party. _

_I put a finger up to my lips. "Shhh, he needs to rest."_

_Noir nodded. "Sure!"_

"After all, Sunrise picked you to choose songs for the party, didn't he, _Noir_?" I frowned.

Noir's eyes widened and she was beginning to look rather flustered. "T-that's just a coincidence! I didn't know that song was going to play during Silver's murder, I just thought it sounded catchy!"

I shook my head. "I wish that were true, Noir...but I don't believe you. Coupled together with your sneaky talent of being the Ultimate Spy, I'm sure you knew that the loud and loud song would make it nearly impossible for us to notice you sneaking into the announcement room. And Sage and Sunrise's argument was the icing on the cake, huh?"

Noir quickly shook her head. "No, no, no! Please, you guys have to believe me: I'm not the killer!"

My heart was starting to hurt just like it did when I accused Scarlet...I wasn't as close with Noir, but it still didn't bode well with me that I was accusing one of my friends…

"Tell me, Noir, what drink were you sipping all night?" Sunrise suddenly questioned.

"H-Huh?" She asked, her face turning red. "I...I can't remember."

"Then let me refresh your memory." Sunrise smirked. "It was a margarita."

_"I've always wanted to try a margarita!" Noir admitted. "It looks so sweet!"_

"I think I know where this is going…" I sighed.

_Royal thought for a moment, before shaking her head. Then, she looked like she realized something. "Well, I am quite observant, as you may know. Before Silver entered, I noticed he looked a little worried. __**Ah, and I noticed that the room smelt like tequila**__. Which is unusual because Silver had been drinking a __**peach bellini all night, which as you may know, contains no tequila**__..."_

"Silver's peach bellini didn't contain any tequila." I stated.

"And neither did my Long Island iced tea." Mauve brought up.

"But, Noir...the primary ingredient in your margarita is tequila, which is why Royal could smell it so much." I frowned. "You had probably just left when she entered which is why the smell was still there."

"Come to think of it, even I could smell it when we entered." Mauve claimed. "I'm sure it wasn't as strong as when Royal smelled it, though."

"So many other people could have drank margaritas!" Noir pleaded. "I couldn't have been the only one."

"True, but the evidence keeps stacking up against you." Sunrise huffed.

"You're the only person who had this much evidence against them." Royal stated truthfully.

Noir crossed her arms. "What about Merigold, who had the opportunity to take the laundry pod when she went to go 'find a book'?! Or Mauve, who was the one who made the drinks in the first place? And don't forget about Sage, who could've started the argument because he was a co-conspirator!"

"It's useless, Noir." I sighed, averting my eyes. "That doesn't help your case."

"B-but, I'm the Ultimate Spy!" Noir said. "An observant, hard-working, nimble, do gooder! I could never kill somebody!"

Hm…

She may have just shot herself in the foot.

Or, maybe she just saved herself.

Either way, this is how I can prove Noir is the killer!

"So, Noir, you're super observant, right?" I questioned.

"Y-yes." She nodded. "It's one of the skills necessary to be a spy! We're observant of all of our surroundings."

"Well," I sighed. "Then you'll remember this prominent detail."

Noir raised a brow. "What detail?"

"Something we haven't mentioned in this class trial." I said. "**What caused Sage and Sunrise's fight**?"

…

…

…

Noir…

Laughed?

What the hell?

"Oh, it was Sunrise's idiotic mind, of course." She answered with another giggle. "Just like Sage said earlier."

"Yes…" I frowned. "But what specifically caused the fight? No one could ever forget it, especially someone as observant as you claim to be."

Noir was silent. She wouldn't meet my gaze.

"Sage even started to say it." I said, trying to help her remember.

"He...spilled something right?" Noir asked, slowly raising her head.

"What did he spill?" I questioned.

"Um, his drink." Noir nodded. "He spilled his peach bellini."

OK...she was almost there.

"On what?" I asked, searching for my final answer.

This is it...Noir can't be the killer if she answers this right.

I don't know if I want her to get it right or wrong.

"On **Sage**, of course!" Noir laughed. "Anyone would hate to have a drink spilled on them, especially Sage!"

She had a smile on her face, but everyone else had a look of disbelief.

She's the killer, no doubt about it.

But why?!

Why would the energetic spy whose smile lights up the room kill Silver?

It just doesn't make any sense…

"So it's true." Rose sighed. "She really is the killer…"

"I'm surprised," Indigo admitted. "And sad…"

"At least this is over and done with…" Lava commented. "Can I go to sleep now?"

"I can't say I'm surprised, I always knew that chick was a fucking weirdo." Shadow shrugged.

"I'm definitely shocked." Diamond admitted. "Noir always seemed so cheerful; not the type of person to kill."

"H-huh?" Noir's face was pale. "What's wrong? D-did I get a detail wrong?"

"Unfortunately, yes." I sighed. "An important one, that makes us all think you're the killer."

"But I'm not!" She protested. "I didn't kill Silver!"

I stayed silent, feeling like an asshole right now.

"All your evidence is circumstantial, you have no other proof!" She claimed, her face going from pale with worry to red with fury.

"Tch, is she having a temper tantrum or something?" Sunrise wondered aloud.

"Looks like she's finally snapped." Royal sneered.

"I didn't snap!" Noir insisted. "I'm innocent! You HAVE to believe me!"

I still couldn't work up the courage to meet her gaze or to speak up. I'm condemning this girl to be punished by the merciless Monokuma, for God sakes…

"Stop acting like I'm the killer!" Noir yelled. "I didn't kill Silver! You have no other proof!"

I needed to prove her wrong…

No matter how much it hurt.

I slowly lifted my head and looked her in her amber colored eyes.

"Let's finish this."

_**Argument Armament**_

"I didn't kill Silver!"

"I'd never do something so terrible to one of my friends!"

"Don't you believe me?"

"You believed Scarlet so easily…"

"Do you really think that low of me?"

"All this evidence may point toward me, but it points to other people, too!"

"Anyone could have done it!"

"You _have _to believe me…"

"I wasn't the only one who drank a margarita!"

"Or the only person to have the opportunity to poison the Long Island iced tea. What about Mauve?!"

"I just forgot one detail, is that really enough to condemn me?!"

"**You don't have any other proof, you can't prove I did it**!"

Noir finished her rant, so I stepped in, knowing what I had to do.

"_Let's end this charade, Noir!"_

"**YOU MADE SILVER GO TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT ROOM!**"

_**BREAK!**_

Noir's eyes were wide, and her body was shaking.

But this was the final nail in her coffin.

_"Do we still get a prize?" Noir asked Silver, looking up at him with pleading eyes._

_Silver chuckled. "Yes, yes. of course. I just need to get it from the announcement room."_

_Silver went towards the announcement room to fetch our prize, and we were left to converse amongst ourselves. All of our conversation was normal and light hearted like it had been for the duration of the night, until I heard a yell._

"You told Silver to go to the announcement room, not because you wanted a prize," I sighed. "But because you wanted to him alone...**so you could kill him**."

Still, she argued with me. "T-that still isn't enough proof...I didn't kill him…" She insisted, staring at me with those wide, amber colored eyes of hers.

I frowned, looking at the faces of my classmates.

They were all counting on me to solve this crime.

And I did!

But Noir is still making this difficult.

I sighed.

What the hell am I going to do now?!

"Make her, Crimson." Azure suddenly spoke up. "Make her confess."

"But how, Az?" I asked. "She just keeps denying it over and over again!"

"Go over everything that happened in this case," Azure suggested. "Make her see that there's no way out: we know she's the killer. I know, it's harsh, but it's the only way." He finished with a sad smile.

I nodded. "You're right."

OK, let's do this!

It's time to prove to Noir there's no way out of this!

"_This _is the truth of the case!"

**Closing Argument**

"The killer had been planning Silver's murder for quite some time, maybe the day that we were given Monokuma's **Savior Perk **motive.

First, the killer needed a way to kill Silver. It's only a guess, but I think while they were doing laundry, they noticed the **warning **on the **Mono Pods** packaging, about how ingestion kills someone in just one minute. Silver's fate was probably sealed the day the killer took the Mono Pod that would eventually kill him: the killer was determined after that!

Their next move was to poison one of the drinks Mauve had made for Cotton's return party. They decided on the **Long Island iced tea**! The killer got an opportunity to be alone with the bottle of Long Island iced tea, and they took advantage, putting the entire Mono Pod into the bottle, resulting in it smelling strangely. This later proved to be an asset to them: since no one wanted to drink any of it after that.

At last, it was the day we all had been waiting for: the day of the party. The killer was assigned the task of picking songs for the party. They knew it'd be weird if someone caught them leaving the dining room to go somewhere else, so they put a **loud and long song **to play during the time they planned on killing Silver.

Luckily for them, they also had their** special Ultimate talent **_and _**Sage and Sunrise's argument **later that night to aid them in entering the announcement room secretly, after** telling Silver to go get the prize** for those who won the trivia game. My guess is they probably snuck out right before Sage and Sunrise's argument, and then came back during it.

They murdered Silver, somehow getting him to drink a glass of the Long Island iced tea. Then, they quickly made their way out, probably just seconds before Royal entered the announcement room, where she found Silver: dead on the floor.

Little did we all know, but the same person who volunteered to investigate Silver's corpse was the reason he was dead in the first place.

They probably volunteered just to make themselves less suspicious…

Isn't that right **Noir, the Ultimate Spy**?"

_**BREAK!**_

Silence.

Absolute silence.

We were all stunned at what just happened.

Hell, even I was and I was the one who went full on Phoenix Wright on Noir!

Then, a great sigh filled the room, and Noir looked at me with a disappointed smile.

Not mad or full or resentment, just upset she lost.

"Well, it'd be pretty hard to refute all that when you piece everything together." She said. "You're right. I was the one who killed Silver."

"But why?!" I asked. "Why would you do something like that?!"

"Wow, wow, wow!" Monokuma exclaimed, jumping up from his throne. "Let's save it for the end of the trial, people!"

"So you all have finished your debating, huh? Geez, that took a lot longer than I thought it would, but it kinda makes sense when you've got the Ultimate Actor as the main character! _Anyways, _considering the trial is over, it's officially time for my favorite event: voting time! Use the button in front of you to vote for who you think killed the unfortunate victim!

Who will be chosen as the blackened?! Will you make the **right choice** or the **dreadfully wrong one**? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee?"

Sure enough, there was a button and a screen on the top of our trial stands that I hadn't noticed before.

My heart was beating at the speed of light.

My hand was shaking like a leaf.

But I had to do this. Otherwise, we'd all die…

I pressed on Noir's portrait, and then pressed the button

..

…

…

About a minute later, a screen popped up behind Monokuma.

It was themed to be like the fighter selection screen for a video game. All of our smiling faces were displayed, and a cursor quickly scrolled over all of them, before getting slower and slower…

And eventually landing on Noir.

The word "GUILTY!" appeared on the screen, with confetti flying everywhere.

Then it turned off.

* * *

"Upupupu, that's right!" Monokuma exclaimed enthusiastically. "Silver's, the Ultimate TV Host, killer is none other than the Ultimate Spy, Noir!"

We all stared in disbelief at Noir, who shockingly looked unphased.

"I knew you were going to find out, Crimson." She admitted. Her tone was serious and mature, far different from the cheerful girl I met when I first entered the computer lab on Day 1.

"Noir…" Cherry looked heart broken, as her eyes watered.

"How could you do this?" Frost frowned.

"I didn't plan on things turning out like this." Noir sighed. "I certainly didn't mean to get myself killed…" She added with an empty laugh.

"Then why?" I questioned. "Why'd you kill Silver?"

"It...was a poor choice of judgement." Noir admitted. "I thought he was the one who put us here."

"But why?" Emerald inquired. "I didn't find him all that suspicious. Definitely not suspicious enough to kill him."

"You all didn't see what I did." Noir frowned. "Trust me, it made all the difference in my decision."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "What'd you see?"

Noir sighed, before shaking her head. "I can't s-"

"Go ahead!" Monokuma suddenly said. "It doesn't matter now, anyways! The plan is finally complete!"

Noir's eyes widened. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Upupu…" Monokuma cackled. "You can share what you found is what I mean! Nothing will happen, I promise!" He added, putting his paw on his 'heart'.

"Ok…" Noir said suspiciously. She then pulled a paper out of her pocket and unfolded it. "Here, Crimson, I think you should see this first. I found it in Silver's pocket a few days ago.

I cautiously took the paper. Something told me that whatever is on here is huge…

Just by looking at the title…

I was right.

**Participant Codenames**

_Listed below are the codenames for the 19 participants of the -scratched-._

_Please refer to -scratched- for further explanation on -scratched-._

_**White Group**_

_Leonia Taylor - __**Diamond **_

_Takumi Kyoshi - __**Cotton**_

_**Black Group**_

_Sonoda Eisen - __**Onyx**_

_Isami Kanagi - __**Lava **_

_Ritsu Kuroyama - __**Noir**_

_**Green Group **_

_Norikazu Kanno - __**Sage**_

_Francesca Croft - __**Emerald**_

_**Orange Group **_

_Takahashi Jirou - __**Sunrise **_

_Evelyn Bryant - __**Merigold **_

_**Purple Group**_

_Jack Masaki - __**Mauve **__(scratched)_

_**Pink Group **_

_Satoko Kiyomizu - __**Rose **__(scratched)_

_**Blue Group**__ (scratched)_

_Akumu Tsubasa - __**Azure **__(scratched)_

_Hiiro Sayoama - __**Frost **_

_Nadia Levitsky - __**Indigo **_

_Mari Tamatsuki - __**Royal **_

_**Red Group**__ (scratched)_

_Seizo Morine - __**Crimson **__(scratched)_

_Koko Kagawa - __**Cherry**_

_Clara Odette - __**Scarlet **_

_**Special Group **__(scratched)_

_Shiro - __**Cloud **__(scratched)_

_Kuro - __**Shadow **__(scratched)_

I almost dropped the list in shock. These were all of our real names!

Why did Silver have this?!

And why did Monokuma let Noir and I read this without punishing us with Despiscocide?

"Upupu...you can share the information, y'know, _Crimson_." Monokuma claimed. "Nothing will happen to you now; there's no need!"

"What's wrong, Crimson?" Akumu (Azure) inquired. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, it's definitely not a good look on you, hon." Mari (Royal) sneered.

"Tch, let _me_ read the fucking paper." Takahashi (Sunrise) demanded, snatching it from my hands. I didn't resist.

As soon as he read it, his face bore the same expression as mine. "What the fuck is this…" Takahashi (Sunrise) asked no one in particular.

"Lemme see!" Takumi (Cotton) exclaimed, taking the paper from Takahashi (Sunrise).

Yeah, you guessed it. Takumi's (Cotton) purple eyes widened.

Pretty soon, everyone started to snatch the paper and pass it around.

After all of us had read it, the noise in the room was silent.

Until she broke it.

"Now do you see why I was suspicious of Silver?" Ritsu (Noir) sighed. "I couldn't understand why he'd have something like that if he wasn't the mastermind behind all of this. But, he's dead, and all of us are still stuck here…"

"But still," Sonoda (Onyx) frowned. "We were all going to die if your little theory was wrong! And seeing that it was, and you denied Crimson's accusations, you would've killed all of us!"

"I didn't know that you'd all be punished if I got away with it until tonight." Ritsu (Noir) insisted. "And once I learned about it, I naturally did everything I could to protect myself. We're all just strangers to each other, y'know. It was me or you guys, and I sure as hell wasn't going down without a fight.

So, this is Ritsu's (Noir) true personality. Not a cheerful, chirpy, excitable girl, but a brutally honest, cold, spy…

"So you killed Silver because you found that paper." I concluded. "Tell me, why did you **steal his e-Handbook and keys**?"

Ritsu (Noir) chuckled. "I was wondering when you were going to bring that up." She said. "I actually took them when I was investigating his body. I intended on looking around his room some more for anything else like this paper, but I never got around to it during the investigation."

"And you never will!" Monokuma laughed. "Give them here, pretty please!" He exclaimed, holding out his paw.

Ritsu (Noir) sighed, but took Silver's e-Handbook and keys out of her pocket and handed them to Monokuma.

"Wait a minute…" Satoko (Rose) frowned. "Monokuma, why'd you let us read this paper if you're not going to let us look around Silver's room?"

Monokuma cackled once again. "_Because_! I have no use for your codenames anymore! Say your real names all you want now, because your ankle bracelets won't go off at the sound of them! I have a different game planned with them now…"

Huh? We can actually say our real names?!

"But why?!" Takumi (Cotton) frowned. "You almost killed me before I got a chance to say the last 'i' in my name!"

"Because, that was then and this is now." Monokuma shrugged. "Deal with it, kiddo."

"So that's really it?" Hiiro (Frost) questioned in surprise. "We can really call each other by real names?"

"It's definitely refreshing!" Koko (Cherry) beamed. "Nice to meet you everyone, I'm Koko Kagawa!"

"Yes, we saw your name on the paper already." Norikazu (Sage) sighed.

"Tch, too bad Shiro's not here to see all this." Kuro (Shadow) smirked.

"Don't be so cruel." Jack (Mauve) scolded.

"Nice to meet you, everyone." Nadia (Indigo) blushed. "W-well, for the second time, I suppose…"

"I know I'm probably not everyone's favorite person right now, but I really hope I can redeem myself." Clara (Scarlet) vowed, a blush on her face.

"Well, it's certainly refreshing to use my real name again!" Francesca (Emerald) smiled. "Although it's going to be a little difficult to memorize everyones real names…"

"It shouldn't be that hard…" Isami (Lava) protested. "Just write them down on your hand three times…"

"_Hola_!" Evelyn (Merigold) beamed. "_Soy Evelyn_!"

"Um, the name's Seizo." I awkwardly smiled. It felt so weird saying my real name without being scared shitless of being injected with Despiscocide.

"Hm, now that we all know each other's real names, does anyone remember each other?" Leonia (Diamond) inquired.

_(Hey, it's me! The ever mysterious narrator! From here on out, our dear characters will be referred to by their __**real **__names! I know it's going to be hard to suddenly forget their code names and call them by their real names, but please refer to Silver's note to try and memorize everyone! The note will show up again just in case you forget and are too lazy to go back the original posting, though. Happy memorizing! _

_Most of you guys voted for this so don't kill me.)_

"Nope, no one's name rings any bells." Takumi sighed.

"How strange." Leonia commented. "I too can't remember anyone here…"

"What about you, Mari?" I inquired. "Now that we can tell each other our real names, you can tell me what movie we starred in."

Mari's face then turned bright red. "W-well, you see, that was-"

"A lie?" Takahashi finished for her.

Mari reluctantly nodded.

"Figures…" I muttered.

"Anyways, enough with the chit chat!" Monokuma said. "It's time for Noir, or rather _Ritsu's _**very special punishment**."

Ritsu nodded in response. "Hm, I suppose it is now time for that, isn't it?"

"What do you mean by punishment, exactly?" Kuro questioned.

Monokuma mischievously giggled. "You're just going to have to see to find out!"

"Ritsu…" I frowned. "I'm sorry it turned out like this."

"Don't be." Ritsu demanded. "It's not your fault I killed Silver. And it's not your fault that I committed such a sloppy crime…"

"Tch, can't believe the actor was actually right." Takahashi admitted.

"It's definitely an accomplishment, Crim-, um, _Seizo_." Hiiro corrected.

"We couldn't have done it without you." Akumu admitted, patting me on the back.

"It's not something to feel super proud of given our circumstances," Jack said. "But, we all would've died if you hadn't helped us."

"T-thank you…" Nadia said quietly.

I couldn't bear to say "you're welcome" or anything like that...I just saved us all from being punished so only Ritsu would be punished…

Why couldn't we have all just lived in peace?

Fuck!

I mean Ritsu didn't even kill for Monokuma's motive!

"Hey, Ritsu," I called. "I wanna know some things."

"Hm?" She asked, turning towards me.

"Well for starters...how'd you even get Silver to drink the Long Island iced tea in the first place? I mean, no one wanted to because of its smell, but Silver was willing?" I questioned. It's been the question that's baffled me the entire case: why did Silver drink the poisoned drink? I mean, Sunrise is the only one who could force the 6'6" giant to do so, because of his position as leader.

But if anyone else tried to make Silver drink it, he could've just pushed them away and gone back into the dining room to tell us about how someone tried to kill him.

But he didn't...

"It was actually pretty easy." Ritsu shrugged. "I didn't even have to say please..."

She then recounted exactly how the murder went down...

_With Silver gone, Ritsu quickly sprang into action. She walked to the bar table, while everyone was distracted by the song and by each other's conversations, and grabbed the bottle of Long Island iced tea. She then grabbed an empty glass, poured just the right amount of Long Island iced tea, and took that with her to the announcement room. _

_A few seconds after she entered is when Sage and Sunrise's argument started. _

_Ritsu approached Silver, who was currently looking for the prize for the trivia contest winners...which was all of us._

_She handed him the drink with a smile, thanking him for hosting the trivia contest. _

_"Thank you, Silver, that was really fun!" Ritsu beamed. "I made you a drink, courtesy of all of us as a thanks to you!"_

_"You're very welcome, Ms. Noir." Silver smiled. "It was a pleasure getting to demonstrate my hosting abilities to you all."_

_He then lifted the drink to his lips, drunk the entire thing in one go..._

_And once again smiled back at Ritsu._

_Ritsu didn't even bother to stay and watch his murder. She waved goodbye to him, and made her way out of the announcement room._

_By the time she left, it was probably exactly one minute after Silver initially drank the Long Island iced tea..._

_He dropped the glass in shock as the pain started to set in, and collapsed to the floor, writhing in agony for a while..._

_Until he was dead._

"How gruesome a tale..." Leonia remarked, clutching her chest.

Ritsu sighed. "Looking back, I regret killing him...but a part of me thinks that he was hiding something from all of us. Something bad..."

"It's definitely possible." Jack nodded. "After all, notice how Silver's note said 19 instead of 20? And how his real name isn't listed?"

I bit my lip. That's right...Silver wasn't a part of the list...

With him being dead, we'd never get a chance to ask him all of our burning questions...

"I have another question." I announced.

"Do tell." Ritsu encouraged. "These questions are keeping my mind off the fact I'm about to die." She added with a chuckle.

"If you would've gotten away with it," I started. "Who would you have taken with you? Because of the Savior Perk, I mean. I know that wasn't the reason you killed Silver, but it would've been an added perk had you gotten away with it."

Ritsu slowly smiled. "Isn't it obvious? **Koko**, of course."

Koko's eyes were watery. "R-really?"

"Yes." Ritsu answered. "I don't do friends, but I liked you, Koko."

Koko slowly smiled. "Thank you, Ritsu...Some of my happiest moments were spent with you. I won't forget it."

"That's enough sappiness for today!" Monokuma said in disgust. "It's time for the blackened, Ritsu Kuroyama, to receive her punishment!"

"Goodbye, everyone." Ritsu waved. "Figure out the truth for me, will you? Of why we were taken here. Consider it my dying wish." She winked.

"I've prepared a **very special punishment**, for **Ritsu Kuroyama**, the **Ultimate Spy**!" Monokuma continued.

"Ritsu…" Koko sniffed, tears finally falling from her eyes.

"You were a smart girl." Leonia admitted. "No one can deny that. You just made a risky decision that didn't work out."

"Again, Ritsu, I'm really sorry it had to turn out this way." I sighed. "I just wished you would've told us about Silver's note instead of acting on an impulse..."

"Don't feel sorry for me, or yourself." Ritsu frowned. "It won't do anyone any good."

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

Monokuma pulled out a little gavel, and suddenly hit a red button in front of him.

There was a little screen on it that displayed:

GAME OVER!

RITSU KUROYAMA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!

There was also a little graphic of a pixelated Ritsu being dragged away by Monokuma…

Turning towards the real Ritsu, I got one last look of her before she was dragged away by a chain coming out of nowhere, dragging her out of the courtroom.

* * *

_**International Espionage **_

The same screen that displayed the voting now displayed Ritsu.

She was in a helicopter, dressed in a black cat burglar costume and hanging onto the door frame of the helicopter, trying not to fall down.

Suddenly, a Monokuma dressed like a pilot pushed her out of the open helicopter door, and she slowly tumbled to the ground, which wasn't as far below as it seemed. She seemed a little hurt, but not dramatically so.

She now appeared to be in some sort of ornate museum, which made no sense since she had just fallen from a helicopter…

The room she was now in was practically dark, except for a lit up display of a button, with the words "END EXECUTION" on it.

Ritsu's face lit up, and she started to walk towards it, before tripping over a switch and activating a laser beam maze.

She looked confidently at it, and slowly but surely worked her way through it, never once stumbling or falling.

She finally reached the display, but just as she was about to press the button, something shot at her.

A Monokuma wearing a police uniform had appeared in front of her, and was shooting at her.

Then, a horde of them appeared, all relentlessly shooting her.

Red blood appeared on Ritsu's body, and you can tell she was in pain.

Bullets after bullets penetrated her body, but she stood her ground, not once falling down.

The bullets suddenly stopped, as it appeared the Monokuma police officers had run out of bullets.

With a weak smile on her face, Ritsu once again raised her arm to hit the button, with all of the Monokuma police officers shaking their heads in fear, as if to say "no".

She did so anyway.

But unexpectedly, the button sprang up, hitting her in the face and pushing her back…

**Into the laser beams**.

The red hot beams of light cut Ritsu's body up into dozens of little pieces…

Ending her execution, just like the button said it would.

* * *

I almost threw up in disgust. "What...the fuck was that?!"

"You're a fucking sicko!" Takahashi yelled at Monokuma.

Nadia was crying, being comforted by Satoko, who herself was teary eyed.

"This can't be happening…" Clara exclaimed, her face pale and slightly green.

"I want to go home!" Shiro screamed, who appeared to now be in control. Tch, knowing Kuro, he probably did it on purpose so Shiro would have to watch Ritsu's punishment.

"That wasn't a punishment." Jack frowned. "That was an execution."

"Yup, yup, you're exactly right, Mr. Masaki!" Monokuma nodded. "That's what happens when someone disturbs the peace!"

"Then why would anyone ever try to kill somebody?!" Evelyn frowned. "If they know that that will happen to them?"

"Upupu, trust me, it'll happen again." Monokuma claimed. "It always does. People go stir crazy, or just straight up crazy! And then they kill, doing everything in their power to try and get away with it!"

"This is a terrible situation we're in…" Akumu admitted. "_P__lease_, guys, let's not ever go through this again! Ritsu killed Silver because she was suspicious of him, instead of just coming to us for help..."

"This is _so _not a reality show…" Mari murmured, shaking her head in disgust.

"An unfortunate outcome…" Isami commented. "I expected better from the Ultimate Spy."

Noir..._Ritsu_, I mean.

She was really dead…

Just like Silver.

Damn it!

Just yesterday there were 20 of us.

And now there's only 18.

Silver was hiding something, and Ritsu was a killer, but still!

They were my friends…

And now they're gone.

"You all will get used to it, don't worry!" Monokuma 'comfortingly' told us.

"Fuck you." Takahashi glared. "You can rot in hell you demented asshole."

"Ahahahaha, I bet I will, someday, when someone finally manages to end me once and for all!" Monokuma laughed. "But that day is not anytime soon! So, I think I'll go eat some fish in honor of Silver, and maybe something black for our dear Ritsu. Bye, bye now!"

And he was gone.

Everything was silent, and for once, I didn't care.

I didn't really feel like talking to anyone right now.

I made my way over to the elevator and pushed the button.

It opened, and I stepped in, with everyone slowly following me.

On the ride, it was clear that one of us was missing.

Ritsu may have been small, but her absence was prevalent given the space we now had.

The elevator opened up, and we were left in the room we had woken up in.

"How are we supposed to get out?" Norikazu frowned.

"This door is locked..." Isami sighed, turning the knob of the door opposite the elevator.

"Oopsie!" Monokuma's voice sounded from a speaker. "My apologies, everyone, I almost forgot! Anyways, don't worry, I'll have you all back on the main floor in _just_ a few seconds…"

Just like what happened before the trial, my eyes grew heavier and heavier until I couldn't open them anymore…

And I collapsed, along with everyone else.

* * *

I woke up in my room.

Thankfully.

I didn't really want to see or talk to anyone right now.

My heart felt empty, and my stomach hurt like a bitch.

I had just sentenced one of my classmates to death, and now I got to carry on with my life like nothing ever happened.

But I'd never forget Ritsu…

She may have been a killer, but she was just following her theory.

She thought Silver was the one who put us in here, and for a good reason, too.

Why did Silver have that note?

Tch, I wonder how Ritsu even got Silver to drink the poisoned Long Island iced tea...

And what the hell did that note even mean?!

_And _why the fuck is Monokuma cool with us using our real names now?!

Just as I was going to get ready to fall asleep, I heard a knock on my door.

Who could that be?

I cautiously approached it, turning the knob and slowly opening the door to reveal...

Akumu, Satoko, Takahashi, and Mari...?

"This is definitely a surprise." I commented. "And the weirdest combination of people."

"Well, as the leaders of the team building activities..." Satoko started.

"_And _the leaders of looking for an escape." Mari finished.

"We wanted to make sure everyone was OK." Akumu explained. "Well, maybe not OK, but-"

"Isn't going to kill themselves or something." Takahashi said.

I sighed. "Well, you can forget about me. I'm not going to hurt this pretty face anytime soon..."

"Are you sure?" Mari inquired, crossing her arms. "You seem awfully depressed about all of this."

"Royal!" Satoko scolded. "Um, I mean, Mari!"

"Just know I'm here for you, if you need anything, Seizo." Akumu smiled. "I like your name, by the way! It fits you more than Crimson."

"_We're _here for you..." Takahashi corrected. "You saved our asses out there, I respect that."

"Even if you accused me of being the killer once or twice..." Mari muttered.

"Anyways, good night, Crimson." Satoko smiled. "Um, I mean, Seizo..."

"Try not to beat yourself up about anything." Akumu sadly frowned. "You did what you had to..."

"Good night, man..." Takahashi said.

"Sweet dreams, Seizo." Mari huffed. "When you wake up, don't be so mopey, kay?"

And with that, the quartet took their leave to go to another room.

I sighed. It wasn't going to be as easy as they said it was to forget about tonight...

Silver...

Ritsu...

I felt like punching a hole in the wall, but I instead just collapsed onto my bed.

I didn't even bother getting changed, despite the fact my clothes probably reeked of blood, sweat, and alcohol.

I just wanted to close my eyes…

Have a nice, sweet dream…

And hopefully never wake up.

* * *

In a rainy forest, a large, imposing building stands...

Two figures stand outside.

"Out on round one..." A hooded figure sighed. "What a disappointment."

"At least they are none than wiser." An additional hooded figure commented. "They still believe everything they've been told is true."

"And we've successfully gotten rid of the codenames with no repercussions." The 1st figure added with a nod.

"With our next little game, this is definitely going to get interesting." The 2nd figure chuckled.

"I wonder who will be out next..." The 1st figure commented. "One of our comrades, or one of _them_."

"I'm not surprised Ritsu was the first one to go." The 2nd figure admitted. "Too wary for her own good, even with what we did."

The 1st figure nodded. "I knew that nature of hers was going to get her killed someday."

The 2nd figure laughed. "...Alright, Heizo, it's about time I head back inside."

"Take care of yourself." The 1st figure said, patting the 2nd figure on the back. "And don't get caught."

"Of course." The 2nd figure smirked. "My vessel will take care of that part."

The 2nd figure headed inside, with the 1st figure being left out in the rain.

"I hope this wasn't for nothing...Makoto is counting on me, I can't let him down..."

* * *

Chapter 1 - The Fool and Her Groom (**END**)

* * *

**Surviving Students**

1\. Seizo Morine (Crimson) - Ultimate Actor

2\. Akumu Tsubasa (Azure) - Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast

3\. Clara Odette (Scarlet) - Ultimate Modern Dancer

4\. Satoko Kiyomizu (Rose) - Ultimate Prodigy

5\. Mari Tamatsuki (Royal) - Ultimate Runway Model

6\. Koko Kagawa (Cherry) - Ultimate Food Critic

7\. Hiiro Sayoama (Frost) - Ultimate Barista

8\. Sonoda Eisen (Onyx) - Ultimate Salesman

9\. Isami Kanagi (Lava) - Ultimate Tinkerer

10\. Evelyn Bryant (Merigold) - Ultimate Translator

**11\. Ritsu Kuroyama (Noir) - Ultimate Spy (1K)**

12\. Shiro (Cloud) / Kuro (Shadow) - Ultimate Oculist

13\. Leonia Taylor (Diamond) - Ultimate Photoshoot Choreographer

**14\. Silver - Ultimate TV Host (1V)**

15\. Takahashi Jirou (Sunrise) - Ultimate Pilot

16\. Nadia Levitsky (Indigo) - Ultimate Daredevil

17\. Francesca Croft (Emerald) - Ultimate Archaeologist

18\. Jack Masaki (Mauve) - Ultimate Dealer

19\. Norikazu Kanno (Sage) - Ultimate Illustrator

20\. Takumi Kyoshi (Cotton) - Ultimate Escapist

Normal = Alive

_Italicized = In Danger_

**Bold = Deceased (V = Victim, K = Killer, P = Punished)**

* * *

_A/N_: **Well damn, I didn't plan on writing this long of a chapter, but I just kept typing and typing! **

**Well, there you have it! Our dear Ultimate Spy, Noir, or Ritsu, is the killer!**

**Some of you had already theorized Scarlet wasn't to blame and it was Noir all along so kudos to you all!**

**It broke my heart killing off both Silver and Ritsu, but it's Danganronpa, and we unfortunately have to say goodbye to two characters per chapter :(**

**Thank you so much to both Silver and Ritsu's creators for submitting two wonderful characters, with interesting talents and intriguing personalities. **

**They were so much fun to write, and I really do hate saying bye to them so soon.**

**But don't fear! I still have special chapters (one of which will be coming soon) and other instances where they will appear! **

**Thank you guys so much for sticking with me throughout this chapter! I hope you'll stick around for the next one, which in my opinion, will be even better!**

**See you guys in Chapter 2!**


	15. Heaven With You (Part 1)

Heaven, With You (Part 1)

* * *

"_Mr. Morine, I'd like you to meet Ms. Ritsu Kuroyama." ? smiled. "She is the very talented Ultimate Spy."_

"_Hey," I called. "Nice to meet you. Guess we're going to be seeing a lot of each other, huh?"_

"_It appears so." She agreed with a nod. "I hope we can both learn something from each other throughout our time here."_

"_Likewise." I smiled. _

"_I'm glad you two are getting along, already." ? admitted. "Mr. Jirou and Mr. Kuro have already started trouble with Ms. Kuroyama…"_

"_Typical Takahashi and Kuro," I sighed. "Sorry to hear they're giving you grief. Those two are definitely the worst ones out of the bunch."_

_Ritsu shook her head. "I don't mind. They keep things interesting around here."_

_I nodded. "Well, I'm glad you see it that way. Anyways, it's nice meeting you, Ritsu. I'll be seeing you around."_

"_Of course." Ritsu said, shaking my hand. "You'll definitely be seeing a lot of me…"_

* * *

I slowly woke up. Surprisingly, not to the dreaded sound of the morning announcement…

Ugh, I think I overslept...

What a weird dream…

And yet, I couldn't help but feel like it was familiar.

I shrugged off my thoughts, and made my way over to the bathroom.

I looked like an absolute train wreck. Like, seriously, I looked like someone who was rushed into the ER after being hit by a train.

I groaned, taking off the clothes that I've been wearing since last night. Monokuma had ever so thoughtfully supplied us with "shower wipes", in place of taking an actual shower. I didn't really have the energy to drag myself all the way to the shower room, so I used them to get rid of the smell of alcohol that still lingered on my body.

Just a few hours ago, I was getting ready for Cotton's, or rather _Takumi's_, return party...I was so excited then.

But now, I just wanted to wipe away every trace of it, from the smell of alcohol, to the blood I accidentally got on myself when investigating Silver's corpse.

I sighed, dropping all of my used shower wipes into the waste bin, and headed back into my room for a change of clean clothes.

Once I finally was dressed and ready to go, I mustered up the courage to face my classmates, and left my room.

* * *

In the hallway, I ran into Mari...who looked a little different.

…

…

…

"Mari, what the hell are you wearing?" I frowned.

Mari smirked and shrugged. "What's wrong, Seizo, don't you like it? I asked Monokuma if he could lend me one of these. I did a little altering, and now it fits me like a glove!"

This girl is** Mari Tamatsuki**, whose codename was** Royal**. She's the Ultimate Runway Model, who's done nothing but cause trouble for all of us since day 1. The only thing she really has going for her is her looks...

Normally, I wouldn't care about the fashion choices that Mari made. But instead of the fur coat she usually wore, she was currently wearing Silver's suit jacket, cropped to fit her. My guess is that Monokuma gave her one of his spares.

"Why, Mari?" I sighed. "Is this some sick joke or something?"

"No!" Mari insisted with a frown. "I actually see it as honoring Silver! I'm wearing a piece of him, so we'll never forget him."

Yeah right_…_

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "OK, Mari, whatever you say…"

I was then forced to walk with her to the dining room.

* * *

"Holy shit." I muttered as soon as I walked in. "Everything is back to normal…"

All of the party decorations were gone, the table and chairs were put back to normal. There was also no traces of any food or drink, or any of the equipment Monokuma gave to Takahashi to play music.

"Monokuma left me a note this morning." Takahashi revealed, seeing my face full of shock as he sat at the head of the table.

The young man is **Takahashi Jirou**, whose codename was** Sunrise**. He's the Ultimate Pilot and leader of our group, elected by himself and Monokuma. He can be an asshole..._most _of the time, but he does a decent job every once in awhile at leading.

"He 'took the liberty' of cleaning up for us, as a courtesy, so we wouldn't have to…" He continued, with a snide tone.

"Tch, whatever…" I mumbled. He probably just wants us to focus more on killing each other than cleaning up after ourselves.

"I wonder if that also means…" Koko started, looking a little pale and disheveled. "That Silver's...body is gone, too."

This usually cheerful young girl is **Koko Kagawa**, whose codename was **Cherry**. She's the Ultimate Food Critic, and uses her skills to make us excellent food for breakfast and dinner. Koko recently lost one of her close friends here, Ritsu, so I don't think she's going to be herself for awhile…

"Don't worry, Koko." Hiiro reassured. "It is, I checked this morning."

This man is** Hiiro Sayoama**, whose codename was **Frost**. He's the Ultimate Barista who makes us coffee every morning. He has quite an obvious crush on Koko, and often makes a habit of comforting her whenever she's down.

"I wonder what he did to it…" Takumi frowned. "He deserves a proper funeral…"

This rather short young fellow is **Takumi Kyoshi**, whose codename was **Cotton**. He's the Ultimate Escapist, who spent the majority of our first week here in the infirmary, after impulsively almost revealing his name, which got him injected with Monokuma's homemade poison: despiscocide.

"It's awful to think about." Francesca sighed. "I can't imagine what Silver's family at home must be thinking. They probably think that their boy is coming home soon, but little do they know…" She trailed off, shaking her head.

This woman is **Francesca Croft**, whose codename was **Emerald**. She's officially the Ultimate Archaeologist, but she calls herself the Ultimate Treasure Hunter. She's been one of the nicer ones here, and someone I suspect will be a big sister figure to anyone who needs a shoulder to cry on.

"_Hazayn jiddaan_…" Evelyn sadly frowned. "I can't imagine what _any _of our family is going through...it's been a week and we still haven't been rescued."

This young lady is **Evelyn Bryant**, whose codename was **Merigold**. She's the Ultimate Translator. She's one of my favorite people here. Always positive, smiling, and just all around friendly, while also standing her ground against people like Mari and Takahashi.

"I'm sure they're looking for us." Leonia claimed. "20 teenagers suddenly disappearing can't have gone unnoticed."

This refined girl is** Leonia Taylor**, whose codename was **Diamond**. She's the Ultimate Photoshoot Choreographer, and arguably the richest one here out of all of us. Her family is apparently super rich, and she's engaged to one of the most successful male models in the world.

"They're looking in the wrong place," Jack sighed. "We're in space, after all."

This man is **Jack Masaki**, whose codename was **Mauve**. He's the Ultimate Card Dealer, and has a penchant for making deals. He's a good friend of mine, and was responsible for making the drinks during Takumi's party. He also has a little rivalry with Satoko for some reason.

"...I thought we decided that Monokuma might be lying." Isami commented. "There's not really a whole lot of proof to back up his claim, after all…"

This cute little girl is **Isami Kanagi**, whose codename was **Lava**. She's the Ultimate Tinkerer, who spends most of her time by herself. She's super smart, from what I've seen so far, but just isn't that social.

"We could break a window and see what happens?" Sonoda suggested, hopefully as a joke…

This black-haired boy is **Sonoda Eisen**, whose codename was **Onyx**. He's the Ultimate Salesman, who has a smooth way of talking, and is full of ideas, but can be a little on the dopey side sometimes.

"That'd just kill us if we really are in space…" Norikazu mumbled.

This man is **Norikazu Kanno**, whose codename was **Sage**. He's the Ultimate Illustrator, and is quite similar to Isami in terms of lack of social interest, but he's a little more on the bold side. He started an argument with Takahashi over a spilled peach bellini, which actually proved to be a pivotal event in proving Ritsu was the killer.

"We still don't have any answers as to why we're here, either." Satoko sighed. "Wherever here even is…"

This girl is **Satoko Kiyomizu**, whose codename was **Rose**. She's the Ultimate Prodigy and has done a lot to help us become used to being here, as one of the co-founders of the 'team building activities'.

"I w-wonder if we'll never find out…" Nadia said in a fearful tone.

This shy girl is **Nadia Levitsky**, whose codename was **Indigo**. Despite her shy demeanor, she's actually the talented Ultimate Daredevil, and is known for her death defying stunts. So far, she's had a little trouble dealing with everything due to her anxious nature, but she's gotten a lot better than how she was on day 1.

"I'm s-scared…" Shiro sniffed. "And I want to go h-home…"

This poor young man is **Shiro**, who also has an alternate personality known as **Kuro**. Their codenames were **Cloud **and **Shadow**. The two of them are the Ultimate Occultists. Poor Shiro has taken this the hardest out of all of us. He's cried more times than I can count, and has had to deal with Kuro's mischievous personality coming out of nowhere and putting him in uncomfortable situations, like being forced to watch Ritsu's execution…

"I'm here if you need anything, Shiro." Akumu smiled. "And that goes for everyone. If you start to feel a little down, please come see me and I'll do my best to cheer you up."

This amazing young man is **Akumu Tsubasa**, whose codename was **Azure**. He's the Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast, and one of my best friends. He's the most positive person out of all of us, and encourages me to see things in a more positive light.

I glanced around at all of my classmates, watching as they conversed amongst themselves.

There was one person who kept their mouth shut throughout our entire conversation…

**Clara Odette**, whose codename was **Scarlet**. She is the Ultimate Modern Dancer, who is friendly yet feisty, especially when it comes to dealing with Takahashi. Speaking of her and Takahashi, Clara tried to kill him in order to escape the HFH Enterprise. She ultimately failed, and quickly realized the error of her ways, but I think deep down, she feels super guilty. And judging by how no one's really talking to her, I guess they are on the same page…

Our conversation was suddenly interrupted by the devil incarnate.

He appeared right in the middle of our table, with no shame apparent on his face whatsoever.

"Everyone seems so mopey!" He commented. "You guys are acting like someone died or something!"

…

…

…

"Oh wait, both Silver and Ritsu bit the dust last night!" He cackled.

"If you're just going to make us feel bad, you can leave." Evelyn glared, crossing her arms.

"Exactly." Francesca nodded, glaring at the animatronic bear.

"Your words wound me," Monokuma pouted. "I think I'll end it all right now and join Silver and Ritsu in the afterlife…"

"By all means, go ahead." Takahashi encouraged.

"You _won't _be missed." Mari sneered.

"Geez, you guys are awfully cold hearted!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Aren't you forgetting that it was ultimately Ritsu who decided to commit murder? It's not like I forced her to!"

"Yeah, but you encouraged her to." Takumi frowned. "By holding this killing game in the first place!"

"Killing game, schmilling game," Monokuma said dismissively. "Anyways, that's not what I'm here to talk to you kiddos about! I want to give you guys not one, but _two _special gifts!"

"Gifts?" Akumu repeated with a frown. "We don't want your gifts!"

"Are you sureeee?" Monokuma inquired, cocking his head to the side. "One of them is from your BFF, Silver!"

Everyone stopped talking.

_"Do we still get a prize?" Noir asked Silver, looking up at him with pleading eyes. _

_Silver chuckled. "Yes, yes. of course. I just need to get it from the announcement room."_

Holy shit. So Silver really did have a gift for us? And Monokuma was going to let us have it?

"Upupupu...I'm guessing that means you want to know what it is?" Monokuma giggled.

"Just give it to us already." I glared.

Monokuma relented and pulled out a box out of nowhere. "_Voila!_"

I took it from his paws and opened it up in front of everybody.

It was...a small trophy. The plaque on the bottom read: "Monopoly Winner". There was a note attached to it:

_Congratulations to our winner!_

_I know this isn't much, but it was the best thing I could find. I actually found it in a Monopoly game, believe it or not!_

_I hope you like it._

_Regards,_

_Silver_

"We'll leave it here." Takahashi declared. "I'll bring a table over from the rec center and we'll display it."

Silver...gone way too soon.

In the end, he might have left us with more questions than answers, but deep down, I think he was a good guy. He deserved to have his memory honored.

"Don't get too excited, but I have _another _gift for you all!" Monokuma suddenly announced.

We all looked at him with quizzical expressions.

"That can't be good…" Nadia said nervously.

"Oh, don't worry, you guys are going to love it!" Monokuma laughed. "After all, it gives you even more things to do!"

"What are you talking about?" Norikazu frowned.

"I'm talking about the fact that the **second floor **is now unlocked!" Monokuma revealed.

"...Unlocked?" I repeated. "Why?"

"Well, it would be boring if you all were confined to one floor, wouldn't it?" Monokuma questioned. "So, out of the kindness of my heart, I'm opening up the second floor for you all!"

"No thanks." Takumi glared. "I bet this is a trick."

Monokuma shook his head. "No, siree, I promise it's not! I'm just trying to do something nice for you guys…" Monokuma sniffed, bowing his head.

"I'll believe it when I see it." Takahashi said. "Now go away, we'll look around after breakfast if we want to."

Monokuma lifted his head back up and nodded. "Fine, fine, have it your way! Toodles, bastards, try not to get yourselves killed!"

And with that, he was gone.

"...So annoying." Isami commented.

"You've got that right," Francesca nodded with a sigh.

"Tell me, everyone." Mari said, smirking. "Surely at least one of you has now remembered me after getting some sleep, yes?"

…

…

…

Mari frowned. "How?! I am _the _Mari Tamatsuki! My face is on magazines all around the country, I've walked for the most well known fashion brands around the world!"

…

…

…

"Fine," Mari huffed. "Be that way!"

"Mari, it's not a personal attack on you that no one knows who you are," I sighed. "None of us recognize each other. But you don't see us complaining…"

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't expect anyone to remember some people here...someone like Clara, for example." Mari remarked with a sly smile. "After all, that dye job of hers probably turns any potential fans away!"

Clara bit her lip and glanced at the ground, but did not say a word.

"Enough, Mari." Takahashi sighed. "Is everyone ready to go explore the second floor?"

Seeing as how we were all finished with our breakfast, we unanimously decided that we were ready.

Everyone got up and left, but I held a certain someone behind…

"Clara," I called.

She turned towards me, looking rather anxious. "Y-yes, Seizo?"

"I know how you're feeling," I sadly frowned. "I can't imagine the guilt that you feel. But please, don't beat yourself up too much about what happened. You may have made a potentially fatal mistake, but ultimately, you recognized the errors of your ways; something Ritsu never did. You admitted to us all what you did instead of lying or beating around the bush, so that just goes to show that you're a good person. You're nowhere near perfect, but shit; none of us are."

Clara offered up a small smile. "Thank you, Seizo. I understand what you're saying, and I guess I shouldn't be _too _hard on myself, but I still can't forgive myself just yet…I think I need to punish myself for a little while longer, as a way to apologize to Takahashi…"

"...Have you tried _actually _apologizing to Takahashi? Like, maybe having a private conversation with him?" I suggested.

Clara's face turned red. "I-I'm not ready to talk to him...maybe later, but it's too soon, now…"

I nodded understandingly. "I get it. My suggestion is, just don't wait too long, ok? He deserves an apology sooner rather than later."

"Right," Clara nodded. "I will."

Clara and I made our way over to the announcement room.

* * *

"Everything really is gone…" Clara commented. Everything we had stored in the announcement room, along with Silver's body, had disappeared.

"It's kind of a relief, in a way." I commented. "I don't think any of us would've enjoyed having to clean up after what happened…"

I looked to my right, and sure enough, the stairway to the second floor was now unblocked.

It was pretty weird thinking about the fact that we now had an entire other floor to explore, but it was also kind of nice. I was getting a little stir crazy doing the same shit everyday, so hopefully this new floor will offer us a change of pace from our daily lives.

_And _maybe the fact that we now have more to do will encourage us to not kill…

"Let's go," I smiled. "I have a good feeling about this new floor."

Clara nodded. "Hopefully you're right."

* * *

We climbed the stairs and were greeted with a surprisingly pleasant sight.

Unlike the first floor's plain and modern appearance, the second floor had more of an urban vibe to it. The walls were brick, and had various posters of different movies, shows, and random pop stars (none of which displayed any of the 20 of us). The lighting throughout the floor was tinted purple.

The only thing I disliked about the second floor's layout was the flooring itself. It was pure concrete, and made the whole floor look like a dive bar.

But overall, it was a nice break from the futuristic design of the first floor.

"Let's split up." Clara suggested.

I nodded. "Sure."

And so, she entered the first room in the hallway, while I walked a little further to the second room.

* * *

I entered, and immediately observed my surroundings.

It seems this room was some sort of game room. There was a ping pong table, air hockey, _and _a pool table. In addition, there were two couches facing a table. There was also shelves filled with even more board games than the rec center! The most interesting thing in the room was an arcade machine, that was decorated with various arcade characters. My guess is that it's one of those machines that can play multiple games.

Takumi, Satoko, Jack, and Francesca were currently in the room, investigating.

"This room is so cool!" Takumi remarked with a bright smile. "Even better than the rec room, in my opinion."

"There does seem to be more things to do." Francesca nodded. "This arcade machine alone could keep someone busy for hours on end!"

"It's definitely a nice addition to the things we have available to us." Jack said.

"I'm sure we can have plenty of fun game nights, now, with the combination of games we have available from the rec room _and _this game room!" Satoko beamed.

"It is pretty cool," I nodded. "Though, I wonder what something like this is doing on a space ship."

"I think it's just for entertainment." Takumi suggested with a shrug. "Maybe if the astronauts got bored?"

"Astronauts?" Jack repeated. "What are you suggesting?"

"Well, there _might _be a possibility that this ship was built for us," Takumi started. "But what if it wasn't?"

"Are you saying that our kidnappers hijacked an already built spaceship, and then took us here to play the killing game?" Francesca asked.

Takumi nodded. "It's certainly possible, right? I mean, do you think our kidnappers really went all out on this place just to have us kill each other off?"

"There are certainly a lot of strange things in this place," Satoko nodded. "Like, why do we have a computer lab if the computers are locked? And how come there was that strange tablet?"

"Not to mention the fact none of our rooms have name plates," Francesca brought up. "We have these strange e-Handbooks and our own trial stands, but our rooms were simply designated to us via the design on the door and the key."

Ugh, there's so many mysteries about our captivity in this place! We keep getting more and more questions, without a single one of our previous questions getting answered!

I bid adieu to the four of them and moved onto the next room.

* * *

This room was...a pool?!

"How the hell…?" I muttered as soon as I entered. A pool in space?

The room was pretty big, with a decent sized pool in the middle. There were also bleachers, a lifeguard chair, and several weird machines, with _"Anti-gravity" _written on them.

Mari, Takahashi, Koko, Hiiro, Leonia, and Evelyn were investigating this room.

"It's certainly grand, that's for certain." Leonia commented. "A pool on a spaceship…"

"I'm betting Monokuma put these anti-gravity machines here to make sure everything is safe." Evelyn suggested. "After all, a large body of water in space doesn't sound like a good idea…"

"This is perfect! If only I could get my tan on…" Mari groaned.

"This could be dangerous, this pool is pretty damn deep." Takahashi noted, looking at the measurements around the pool.

"Hiiro, we should go swimming soon." Koko said with a smile. "Maybe it'll help take my mind off everything…"

"Of course," Hiiro nodded. "We can do anything you want."

The tranquil atmosphere in the room was ruined by the sudden appearance of Monokuma.

"Pools have always been the source of trouble for me!" Monokuma sighed. "My great aunt's boyfriend tried to drown me in one once!"

"And it didn't work?" Evelyn sadly frowned. "Pity."

"How cruel," Monokuma sniffed. "You guys make me want to drink a poisoned Long Island iced tea and never look back!"

"Monokuma, your jokes are unappreciated and unfunny." Leonia sighed.

"Upupu," Monokuma giggled. "I'm sure Kuro would appreciate my jokes if he were around!"

"Yeah, but he's not, so can you just go fuck yourself and rot in hell?" Takahashi said.

"Not quite yet," Monokuma shook his head. "I have some _beary _important things I need to let you know first!"

"Like what?" Hiiro questioned with a suspicious frown.

"Some rules to add to your e-Handbook!" Monokuma answered. "About the pool.

**Rule number nine**, there can never be just one person in the pool! A minimum of **two **organisms are allowed to swim!

And **rule number ten**, a **lifeguard **must be appointed by the leader, in order to ensure safe and proper usage of the pool!"

"A lifeguard, huh?" Takahashi repeated nonchalantly. "**Hiiro**, you're the perfect man for the job."

"H-huh?" Hiiro turned towards Takahashi with a red face. "Why me?"

Takahashi shrugged. "You're here, you look like you'd make a good lifeguard, so I choose you."

Hiiro frowned, but kept his mouth shut. Because of the leader rule, he couldn't oppose Takahashi…

"Hey, I thought only one rule could be added per week." I frowned.

"Onerule by a _student suggestion_." Monokuma clarified. "I'm well beyond the age of being a student! I'm 1,390,432,013,568,474,095,279,108,000 years old, after all!"

…

…

…

"Please leave." Leonia said.

Monokuma frowned. "Fine! If you guys don't want me, I'll find someone who will!"

He disappeared.

"Thank God…" I muttered. Everytime Monokuma opened his mouth, I became one year closer to my death.

"Interesting rules that he implemented." Leonia commented. "There can't be just one person in the pool?"

"It doesn't matter to me, I'll be swimming with Takahashi!" Mari smirked.

"Keep dreaming, princess." Takahashi frowned. "Pool water doesn't agree with my hair…"

"Oh, you _are _going swimming with me," Mari declared. "Whether you like it or not!"

The two then started to argue.

Evelyn sighed, turning to me. "I think being stuck in this place with those two is even worse than the fact that we haven't seen the Sun in over a week…"

I left the pool in an attempt to stop the headache I was getting from listening to Mari and Takahashi from forming anymore. I moved onto the next room on the floor.

* * *

"A gym?" I said.

A gym, indeed.

This room was probably the same size as the pool, maybe a little bigger. There were basketball hoops, bleachers, and a door leading somewhere.

Shiro, Norikazu, and Isami were currently investigating.

"The three musketeers!" I smiled as I walked up to them. "Find anything interesting?"

"N-not really," Shiro answered, shaking his head. "It looks like this room is just a regular gym."

"...Maybe not." Isami interjected.

She was standing at the top of the bleachers, looking at a clock.

"What's that?" I asked, joining her.

"...I don't know." She bluntly answered. "But it looks like a clock to me."

Well yeah, obviously…

Norikazu suddenly opened the door near the back of the gym, went inside for about a minute, and then came out with a tennis racket.

"That room is full of various fitness equipment." He revealed, half-heartedly swinging the tennis racket. "I'm sure the brutes in here will be pleased…"

Suddenly, as soon as he swung the tennis racket, the clock buzzed, and stopped ticking.

"Hm?" Isami turned towards the clock. "It stopped as soon as he swung it…"

"Weird." I commented. "...Norikazu, swing it again."

"Excuse me?" Norikazu frowned. "What makes you think I take orders from you?"

"_Please_, Norikazu." I sighed. "I want to test something."

Norikazu still didn't look too happy, but swung the tennis racket again.

The clock jumped forward to a minute from where it stopped, the exact moment Norikazu swung the tennis racket for the second time.

"...This clock records the time a piece of equipment is used." Isami realized. "My guess is to keep track of game times, scores, etcetera…"

"M-maybe we can play a game together, sometime?" Shiro suggested with a smile. "I think it'd be really f-fun…"

"Sure, sounds like a plan!" I nodded. "It'll be nice to get out some of our pent up energy with some exercise!"

"I for one will watch from the sidelines." Norikazu sneered. "I have no interest in participating in a game if it involves...certain people here."

I could only assume he was referring to Takahashi and Mari.

"Aw, c'mon," I frowned. "You don't have to be on the same team as them, y'know. Imagine the look on their faces if you beat them! It might finally put them in their place."

Norikazu thought for a moment. "...That would be quite satisfying...We'll see."

I turned to Isami. "What about you, Isami? Want to get your sport on?"

Isami immediately shook her head. "Not really. I'd rather sleep…"

* * *

I left the trio in the gym to move on to the next room. It was probably the smallest room on this floor, and was filled with strange things.

There was a counter with a cash register, but no one in front of it. There were shelves full of trinkets, like stuffed animals, bubbles, sheets, candy, and even some electronics, like cameras and MP3 players, like the one Ritsu used for the party.

Sonoda was the only one investigating this room.

"I'm a sucker for strange things like this." Sonoda admitted. "I wonder if we can just take them and leave?"

Immediately after Sonoda asked his question, Monokuma appeared in front of him.

"Nope! Wrong! Incorrect!" Monokuma answered. "You must pay for everything with **Monocoins**!"

"Monocoins?" I repeated. "What the fuck is that?"

"Monocoins are the currency on this ship!" Monokuma continued. "They're scattered all over! You can use the Monocoins you find to buy things in here, the Monostore!"

…

…

…

"There's a type of currency on this ship?!" Sonoda asked with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Yup, yup!" Monokuma nodded. "I just finished scattering them. There's about..1,000,000 in total, all around the ship!"

Sonoda looked like he was going to have a heart attack from excitement. "_A MILLION MONOCOINS_?! DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS?! I'M ME AGAIN!" He exclaimed with a cackle. He sounded like an anime villain.

"Geez, Sonoda, you sound like you won the lottery or something." I remarked with a nervous laugh.

"I might as well have!" Sonoda smirked. "Once I find the most Monocoins, I'll be the RICHEST one out of all of us, and Takahashi and Mari will be forced to bow down to me!"

"That's certainly an admirable goal!" Monokuma nodded. "Anyways, I have to continue torturing some puppies I found. Toodles!"

_And _he was gone.

"Seizo, you're about to start seeing some changes around here!" Sonoda claimed, confidently crossing his arms. "The Ultimate Salesman is back in business!"

"What are you talking about?" I questioned. "Are you going to run the store or something?"

"No!" Sonoda shook his head. "I'm going to utilize the Monocoins for my own personal benefit! If I find them all, people will beg me for them, and they'll do anything for me to get them!"

I looked around the shop. There wasn't really anything worth begging for.

"Sure, Sonoda…" I nervously laughed. "Good luck."

I left Sonoda in the store so he could investigate every nook and cranny, searching for Monocoins.

* * *

There were three more rooms in the hallway.

I opened the first one I came across and wasn't surprised.

_Cotton nodded. "Yeah, I definitely don't want to wind up back in the infirmary again. Monokuma did nothing but talk nonsense and yell at me..." _

_"The infirmary?" I repeated. "So if we get injured we can get taken care of there?"_

_"Yeah." Cotton said. "My memory of being brought up there is a little hazy, but I'm pretty sure we only had to go up one flight of stairs, which means it's on the second floor."_

I knew that one of the last three rooms must be the infirmary!

It was a medium sized room, with four hospital beds. There was a shelf full of medicine and first aid supplies, as well as a file cabinet.

There wasn't anyone investigating in here.

One of the beds was not like the other. The sheets looked freshed, and it was perfectly made. My guess is that this is where Takumi slept.

I wandered over to the medicine cabinet.

There was all sorts of medicine, from ibuprofen to Pepto Bismol. There was even a jar of maggots for sucking out poison. It's good to know that if we ever get sick, we'll be taken care of.

The last thing of interest for me was the file cabinet.

I opened all of the drawers, but alas; there was only one folder in the top most drawer.

I opened it, of course.

_**Patient Information**_

_Name: Takumi Kyoshi, Cotton_

_DOB: December 31st, 20XX _

_MyNumber: 678137499280_

_Diagnosis: Poisoning via Despisocideiumes _

_Treatment Plan: Drain poison from bloodstream, allow stomach lining to heal, insert IV for fluids._

It felt kind of wrong to read Takumi's file, so I put it back into the file cabinet and left the room.

* * *

I went to the room at the end of the hallway, turning the knob.

Unfortunately for me, it was locked.

"Fuck me…" I mumbled.

This was just like the locked room down on the first floor! What is it with Monokuma and locked rooms at the end of hallways?! I hope this doesn't become a trend…

I made my way back to the first room, the one Clara went into, and entered.

* * *

This was the strangest room out of all the ones I've seen, including the ones back on the first floor.

There were 20 headsets, each connected to a computer in the center.

Akumu, Clara, and Nadia were investigating this room.

"What is this place?" I questioned.

"Monokuma came by earlier," Akumu started. "Apparently, it's some sort of 'Virtual Reality' room. The computer in the center has a variety of games to play. You just load it up, put a headset on, grab a controller, and play."

"There's even a racing game," Nadia smiled. "I-I'm excited for that one...Monokuma says you can drive through hoops of fire!"

"Sounds like fun," I chuckled. "We'll all have to play a game together sometime. After all, there's 18 of us and 20 headsets."

"I wonder if that was done on purpose," Clara thought aloud. "Specifically made for the 20 of us, I mean."

I shrugged. "It's definitely a possibility. 20 seems to be the magic number around here." 20 of us, 20 chairs in the dining room, 20 bedrooms…

"Let's not worry about that." Akumu suggested. "We have all these new rooms to keep us entertained, let's try and relax for awhile."

I nodded. "You're right, Az. I've done too much thinking these past few days, all I want to do now is clear my mind and go for a swim in the pool or play a game with everyone."

"Your wish is my command, Seizo." Akumu smiled. "I'll plan something for tomorrow."

Suddenly, an unexpected announcement played…

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Certain locations will now be locked for the remainder of the night. Sweet dreams my passengers, let the sparkle of the stars and the roar of the spaceships's engine lull you into a deeeepppp sleep. Gooood niighhttt!"

"H-huh?" Nadia asked in shock. "That's i-impossible, we just woke up not too long ago…"

"There's no way it's 10 PM already…" Clara frowned. "We've done quite a bit of investigating of the second floor, but not enough to have wasted that much time…"

Akumu sighed. "My guess is that we slept for more than we thought. I'm sure we were all tired from the party, the investigating, and the trial, so maybe that's why."

"Hm, maybe…" I whispered under my breath. I had a bad feeling all of a sudden.

Did we really sleep for that long? I mean, I didn't hear the morning announcement, but still, I thought I had only overslept for an hour or two.

I was actually starting to feel tired again, though, so I bid farewell to Nadia, Akumu, and Clara.

* * *

"Home at last…" I mumbled, jumping into my bed.

It felt good to be alone.

I felt kind of weird around everyone today…

It was clear that two of us were missing, and yet we carried on with our conversations like nothing ever happened.

Silver…

Ritsu…

Wherever you guys ended up, I hope you're together, watching and looking over us…

Can you help us get out of here?

I know it's a long shot, but hey, I believe in ghosts!

I sadly smiled. Silver and Ritsu can't help us now...We have to figure this out ourselves.

We have three options:

Stay here for the rest of our lives.

Figure out the truth of why we're here, and somehow escape.

Or, kill each other until someone gets away with it. That person gets to leave while the rest of us are killed…

I pulled my blanket over me and closed my eyes.

"Please let me dream of home tonight…"

* * *

_A/N_: **Yes, this is the first part of chapter 2, Heaven With You! **

**Any thoughts on the title's meaning? The Fool and Her Groom referred to Scarlet and Sunrise, if you didn't catch that. **

**You could also say that it applied to Noir and Silver!**

**Anyways, as always, please let me know your thoughts. I've actually already planned out this chapters murder (something I didn't do for chapter 1), and now all I have to do is write. This chapter might be a _little_ bit shorter than Chapter 1, simply because of plot purposes, but I promise our victim and killer will still get as much development as Silver and Noir!**

**Looking forward to seeing you guys in the next one :)**


	16. White Day (SC2)

White Day

* * *

_A/N_: **Hey all, the next special chapter is here! Also, happy White Day to those who celebrate!**

**This chapter is a teeny-weeny little bit different than the last one. I've been thinking of fun anime troupes/filler episode troupes lately, and since I can't incorporate them into normal OOTW, I thought that the special chapters could serve the purpose ;)**

_**ALSO, some important news! **_

**In case you guys didn't know, I have a Discord server for this story. Me and almost the entire cast are on there, and we just talk, play games, or discuss the story. **

**Please let me know if you are interested! Here is a link, but I'm sure it will expire soon, so just PM me for a new one: ****discord . gg / 949GGn (remove spaces)**

* * *

Usami giggled as she looked at her lists of potential student relationships.

She had recently succeeded in making Cherry and Frost official back in December. And now, she thinks enough time has passed for her to make her next move.

She put a check mark on the two names at the top of her list. "This is most definitely going to work out! It might be a _little _bit of work to get these two to see eye to eye, but I'm confident that I'll succeed!"

* * *

I yawned.

Another day, another morning announcement.

I nearly forgot, but after hearing it, I guess today is White Day…

It makes sense, given how one month ago was Valentine's Day, but still. Time sure does go by fast…

As per usual, I got ready and left my room.

* * *

I always seem to run into one of my classmates on days like these; and today was no different.

"_Good morning_, Seizo." Jack greeted. "Today is White Day. Are you excited?"

Oh yeah, I probably forgot to mention it before, but Usami succeeded in taking our ankle bracelets off! It was _slightly_ painful, but all 20 of us are now ankle bracelet free.

Not going to lie though, it took us quite a bit before we finally got the courage to speak our real names. We were scared something was somehow going to happen to us…

"Sure," I nodded. "I kinda forgot it was today though, so I don't have anything prepared for anybody."

Jack chuckled. "I'm sure everyone understands; I too forgot it was today. There's no calendar in here, after all."

"Have any ideas on who you're going to spend your day with, Jack?" I inquired with a sly smile. I had a feeling I already knew, but I wanted to hear Jack say it…

"No," Jack insisted, his face slightly turning red. "I still haven't thought about it…"

"_Sure_." I smiled.

Jack shook his head. "Anyways, I gotta go. I'm really hungry this morning," He claimed, hurriedly heading in the direction of the dining room.

I chuckled. That guy was too cool for his own good to admit that he has a crush on a certain raven-haired girl…

* * *

"Mari, you're pissing me off…" Takahashi grumbled as soon as I entered the dining room.

Mari was currently standing over Takahashi, with her arms crossed. "_You're_ pissed off?! _I'm _pissed off! You didn't get me anything for White Day!"

Takahashi slammed his fist on the table. "Why the fuck would I give you something for White Day?! I'm the _king _of this goddamn ship, not some lowly servant who does deeds for others!"

I have no idea where he got the king part from, but ok…

It was typical to see them argue, so I wasn't surprised.

What _was_ surprising was the conversation going on between a certain duo…

"Hiiro, this gift…" Koko started, holding up a portrait of Hiiro and Koko . "Is totally lame!"

What?!

"Of course you're not happy with it!" Hiiro sneered. "I try my absolute best to please you, and you treat me like trash!"

"Because you deserve it you lump of coffee grounds!" Koko fired back.

Suddenly, I saw movement up in the sky.

Nadia had launched herself from one end of the dining hall to the next, using a makeshift canon that Isami made her in February.

Her target…

Sonoda?!

"What the f-" Sonoda started to say, before being trampled by Nadia.

He was now laying on the floor, with her standing on top of him.

"T-that's for overcharging everyone when Usami put you in charge of the school store!" Nadia frowned.

"Why you-" Sonoda suddenly leaped up, making Nadia trip and fall on her face.

"Ow…" She mumbled.

"You're not just a daredevil, you're _the _devil!" He commented. "Always running around with that tinkerer chick, causing trouble!"

"M-me? Causing trouble?" Nadia repeated. "Y-you're the one who is constantly making people physically uncomfortable, you _salesman_!" She fired back in a snide tone.

What the hell is going on here?! Everyone is acting like they hate each other!

I tried to think about what was going on, when a chair suddenly flew past my head.

"Watch out, Seizo!" I heard Francesca yell.

I turned to see her charging in my direction.

"It's not you I'm aiming for, so _move_!" She insisted.

I quickly did as I was told.

I continued to watch the action, and realized it was Evelyn who Francesca was aiming for. The translator was sitting in a chair with her arms crossed.

As soon as Francesca came close, Evelyn pulled a book out of nowhere, and slid it under Francesca, making her trip.

"Ah!" Francesca screamed as she hit the floor.

"That's what you get, Francesca!" Evelyn glared. "You're behaving almost as badly as Mari!"

Mari took a break from her argument with Takahashi to turn towards Evelyn. "_Excuse _me, rat?"

"You heard me, 'Daddy's Money'." Evelyn smirked. "Your personality is about as atrocious as that horrendous fur jacket you always wear!"

"Shut up, nerd!" Mari sneered.

"_You _shut up, fake ginger!" Evelyn shot back.

I turned my head to see yet another duo failing to get along.

"You're always so pretentious, Leonia." Norikazu frowned. "Why don't you loosen up for once?"

Leonia scoffed. "As if I would listen to the opinion of a _commoner_, whose just as 'pretentious' as I am..."

"Commoner?" Norikazu repeated, glaring at Leonia. "I may not be as rich as you, but I'm far from being a commoner..."

"Whatever you say…" Leonia shrugged. "_Commoner_."

The two continued to hurl rich people insults at each other.

"Haha, a dancer?" I heard Takumi laugh. "What a laughably worthless talent!"

"How are _you _the Ultimate Escapist, when you haven't been able to find a way out of this place?" Clara shot back, her hands on her hips.

"How about _you _try to find a way out when you're in freaking space!" Takumi frowned.

"That's not my job," Clara smirked. "I'm just a 'worthless dancer', remember?"

"Get away from me," Isami loudly demanded. She was currently sitting in a chair working in her journal. "I can't focus with your incessant crying!"

"S-stop ignoring me!" Shiro yelled in between sobs. "I need your ATTENTION!"

"Go bother someone else," She said. "Someone who actually cares…"

"No!" Shiro pouted. "I'm going to keep bothering you until you finally a-acknowledge me!"

"Jack, for the last time, _no_!" Satoko frowned.

"Satoko, for the last time, _yes_!" Jack argued. "I went through a whole lot of trouble to make this for you, so you're going to eat it!"

He was currently holding up a cookie to her.

"You did _not_ make that," Satoko rolled her eyes. "That's clearly from one of the boxes in the pantry."

"You dare call me a liar?!" Jack gasped.

"Of course I am!" Satoko responded. "You lie about everything! _And_, you cheat! That's how you always win at cards!"

I shook my head. Something wasn't right here…

I was just about to speak up and address everyone when I was pushed.

"Watch it, _Seizo_." A voice said.

I turned to see Akumu looking at me with a hateful expression. "You're always getting in the way of everyone! Maybe you should pay more attention to your surroundings!"

"H-huh?" I asked, surprised. "I always look where I'm going…"

"Lies!" Akumu protested. "Just 24 seconds ago, you were in my way!"

"Um, you were behind me." I sighed. "How could I have seen you?"

"Shut up!" Akumu yelled. "I bet it's those red eyes of yours that obscure your vision!"

"You have red eyes, too." I frowned. "Plus, you're the one whose actually blind in one eye!"

I angrily walked away, going in the direction of the announcement room to cool off.

I took one step in, and was then suddenly pulled inside.

* * *

"Seizo!"

It was Ritsu. "Are you...feeling ok?"

I raised a brow. "Um, I guess. It's just that everyone is acting totally strange towards each other."

Ritsu breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. So you're not **infected**."

"Infected?" I repeated. "What do you mean?"

"If you haven't noticed yet, everyone seems to be acting like they hate each other," Ritsu started. "I asked Usami about it when I noticed, and apparently, something called a **Hate Virus **was found on the ship, and everyone in the dining room was infected by it."

"A Hate Virus?" I repeated. "How the hell did something like that find its way on here?"

Ritsu shook her head. "A great question, one that Usami couldn't answer. Luckily, it seems like the three of us are unaffected for some odd reason..."

"Three?" I repeated.

"Yes, three." Suddenly, Silver appeared, walking down the second floor staircase.

Oh yeah, I also forgot to mention: Usami managed to pry open the gate leading to the second floor!

"So you too, Silver?" I inquired.

He nodded. "Yes, I also seem to be immune to the Hate Virus. I walked into the dining room, saw how everyone was behaving, and was about to leave when Ms. Ritsu beckoned me over to the announcement room."

"Did you find what I asked you about?" Ritsu questioned him.

Silver shook his head with a frown. "No. My apologies, but the infirmary doesn't have anything that looks like a vaccine for this type of thing, like Usami said it would."

Ritsu nodded with a disappointed sigh. "So, we're going to have to do this the hard way, then."

My face turned a little pale. "T-the hard way?"

* * *

**This is an awful idea…**

I shakily entered the dining room, flinching at the sounds of my angry classmates.

As much as I didn't want to do this, the 'thick skin' I've gotten from my harsh career has made me perfect for this sort of thing…

According to Ritsu.

I approached Isami and Shiro, the two who I thought would be the easiest to cure.

"Isami." I called.

She glared up at me. "...What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?"

Huh, I can't tell if she's really infected or just behaving like her normal, anti-social self.

"I want to know why you're being so rude to Shiro." I sighed. I looked over at the occultist, as he angrily wept in a corner of a room.

"...That guy?" Isami repeated. "Because. He's unbearably annoying, way too sensitive, has an asshole split personality, cries more than he talks, and is incredibly, **useless**."

My jaw almost dropped to the floor.

This wasn't just some Hate Virus, this is some sort of Evil Virus or some shit!

"D-do you hear her, Seizo?" Shiro sniffed. 'Always so callous and cold! It's no wonder she has no friends!"

"Geez, Shiro, that's not very nice…" I sighed.

"I don't care about being nice around a heartless monster like h-her." Shiro pouted.

"Such a child…" Isami groaned. "Did you parents not teach you that not everything is sunshine and rainbows all the time…?"

"Such insensitivity." Shiro frowned. "Y-you're the one who needs to be taught a lesson!"

He then stood up and got in Isami's face, to which she seemed unphased.

"M-meanie!" He fired.

"Man-child." She shrugged.

"She-demon!" He shot back.

"_Demon worshipper_." She glared.

"**ENOUGH!**" I demanded, in a tone I hadn't had to use since I used to scold my cousin.

"This isn't like you guys!" I frowned. "Can't you see?!"

The two narrowed their eyes.

"You guys are **friends**!" I sighed. "You get along like two peas in a pod! And the best part about your friendship, the part you like the most, is just being in each other's presence! You don't have to hang out everyday or talk all the time, it's just being there for each other that you guys like the most. So please, snap out of it, and realize that you don't mean what you're saying!"

The two looked at me for a moment, before turning towards each other.

Then, shockingly, something in their eyes twinkled. It was as if they were back from the dead…

"Shiro…" Isami said softly.

"I-Isami!" Shiro sniffed, embracing her in a hug, to which she didn't hug him back, but let him. "I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean those things!"

"Me neither…" Isami replied.

Holy shit…

It actually worked!

_Ritsu nodded with a disappointed sigh. "So, we're going to have to do this the hard way, then."_

_My face turned a little pale. "T-the hard way?"_

_Silver nodded. "I believe Ms. Ritsu is suggesting we try the alternative method that Ms. Usami suggested."_

"_And what might that be?" I questioned. _

_Ritsu sighed. "Well, the only thing that can be hate...as cheesy as it sounds, is love. So, she suggests we make the afflicted remember how they love each other."_

_Silver chuckled. "Yes, those were the exact words spoken by Ms. Usami. She basically is saying we need to make the afflicted snap out of it."_

"_Yeah…" Ritsu rolled her eyes. "It's dumb, but it's our only option. Seizo, I think you'll be the most suitable one for this task."_

And then I was basically forced to do it.

But hey, it actually worked!

"I, u-um, have something for you, Isami." Shiro suddenly revealed, his face adorned with a deep blush.

"Hm?" Isami questioned, tilting her head. "...What is it?"

Shiro pulled a little box out of his pocket, and shakily gave it to Isami.

She then slowly opened it, revealing…

A fancy fountain pen.

Isami smiled. It was small, but Seizo could clearly see she was thankful.

"Thank you…" She said, looking up at Shiro.

Shiro also smiled. "A-anything, for my best friend…"

* * *

With Isami and Shiro back to normal, I set my sights on the next 'not difficult to deal with' pair.

Francesca and Evelyn sat by side, arms crossed and refusing to look at each other.

"What's your deal, Seizo?" Francesca groaned. "I don't want to talk to Ms. Dictionary over here…"

"Oh shut it, John Aubrey." Evelyn frowned. "And Seizo, I'd rather slit my wrists with a thousand paper clips than have a conversation with her."

I sighed. "C'mon guys, this isn't like you at all. You're just being blinded by hate from the Hate Virus."

Francesca chuckled. "Hate Virus? Is that some sort of made up thing from one of your movies?"

Evelyn also laughed. "I'm surprised Seizo, I thought you were more serious than that!"

I rolled my eyes. "_Anyways_, you guys need to cut it out! You're best friends, not mortal enemies!"

The two said nothing, still looking at me with confusion and annoyance.

"Francesca, you _enjoy _Evelyn's talent for speaking multiple languages. You've even begged her to teach you some new languages so you can study mysterious artifacts more easily!" I reminded.

"I already speak multiple languages." Francesca huffed. "I don't need Evelyn's help just because she speaks more than me…"

"Ha!" Evelyn laughed. "I speak far more languages than you, can speak _and _write them fluently, and learn entire new languages in as little as a week!"

"Evelyn, bragging is not like you at all." I frowned. "You enjoy teaching and helping others, especially your friends. You help them learn new things, and show them your studying tricks! You don't put them down or act like you're better than them!"

"Sure I do." Evelyn smirked. "After all, I'm the smartest person on the ship, why shouldn't I brag?"

I wanted to snap my neck so bad, but I resisted the urge. I had to get these two back to being friends at all costs!

I was so lost, I had no idea what to do…

I closed my eyes, trying to think.

"_Me?!" I asked in shock. "But why?"_

"_You're tough. And everyone likes you." Ritsu responded. _

"_You have both the brains and the brawn to snap them out of their state." Silver added._

Both brains _and _brawn…

"If you're done, can I go now?" Francesca asked. "I refuse to listen to Ms. Full of Herself for any longer."

"Yes, I'd much rather be in the rec room reading a book." Evelyn sighed. "They're far more interesting than Francesca."

I balled up my fists.

If this didn't work, I was going to be in a whole lot of trouble…

Using as little of my strength as possible, I lightly bonked the two girls on the head.

…

…

…

"H-huh?" Evelyn slowly looked up at me. "What happened?"

"My head hurts…" Francesca complained. "Did I have too much to drink or something?"

"Um, what do you guys think of each other?" I nervously asked.

They gave me an odd lock.

"Evelyn?" Francesca repeated. "She's my best friend! I don't know what I'd do without her!"

"Likewise." Evelyn smiled. "There's no one else on this ship that I'd rather be with!"

The two embraced in a hug, and I let out a relieved sigh.

But, hm, _just _friends…?

Hehe, one day they'll realize...

* * *

"So annoying!" Clara yelled. "Just leave me alone, shortstack!"

"Who're you calling shortstack?!" Takumi glared. "I'm a perfectly good height for a boy my age!"

"You tell her, Takumi!" Sonoda cheered. "I'm going to up charge her even more after this is all over!"

"E-even more?" Nadia repeated. "So you admit it…"

I had gathered these four together to cure them all at once.

Takumi and Sonada, and Nadia and Clara were close to each other, so I figured that would also help.

"I have better things to do than _apologize _to Nadia." Sonoda frowned.

"L-like what?" Nadia glared. "Being a scoundrel as usual?"

"That's Takumi's job, Nadia." Clara sneered. "Annoying everyone and causing trouble."

"I just like to have fun, Clara." Takumi frowned. "Better than moping around because the boy she likes likes someone else." He added with a smirk.

Clara's face turned red with both anger and embarrassment. "W-why you-"

"_GUYS_!" I yelled.

The four finally stopped their arguing and turned to me.

"Just stop!" I demanded. "You four aren't yourselves! You don't mean anything you're saying."

"Why of course I do," Sonoda huffed. "This foul devil is smearing my name, of course I have to defend myself."

"Sonoda is such a t-terrible person, he deserves every mean word that g-gets said to him!" Nadia said.

"Takumi needs to be knocked down a peg, he always thinks so highly of himself!" Clara crossed her arms.

"I do not!" Takumi gasped. "I just recognize that I have a more interesting talent than most people here! Cough, cough, _dancer_…"

"Did you really just say cough, cough?" Nadia deadpanned.

"You guys are ridiculous." I groaned.

These four are a lost cause, words won't get through any of their stubborn minds.

"Super special attack: Crimson Fan!" I yelled, bonking the four on the head with impressive speed.

The four all groaned in pain, rubbing their heads.

"W-why?" Nadia sniffed. "Why does my head hurt?"

"Ouch, did someone find out I over charged them?" Sonoda mumbled.

"Did I do a trick wrong?" Clara wondered.

"Did I fall out a window again?" Takumi muttered.

Finally…

They looked at each other in confusion.

"What are you all doing here?" Sonoda questioned. "Come to purchase some of my wares?"

"Were we talking or something?" Clara asked. "I can't remember…"

"Huh, I don't know." Takumi answered. "I feel like a part of my memory is missing…"

"H-hey," Nadia suddenly called. "Now that we're all t-together, why don't we go to the pool?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Clara beamed. 'I've been meaning to get my swim on."

"Ooo, yes!" Takumi eagerly nodded. "We should play Marco Polo!"

"I guess I could." Sonoda nodded. "Though, I can't for long. Have to spend some quality time with my favorite monocoin, Mary."

…

…

…

"Haha, I'm only joking!" Sonoda claimed.

"_Yeah_…" Clara mumbled.

The four walked into the announcement room together, heading to the pool.

Phew, that was a hard one.

* * *

"Don't touch me, jerk!" Satoko yelled, moving away from Jack.

Jack rolled his eyes. "I'm literally not even touching you…"

"Your breath is touching me, so I feel violated." Satoko huffed.

"I know you guys don't always get along, but this is pretty bad." I frowned.

"We don't just not get along," Satoko frowned. "I hate, hate, _hate, _Jack!"

"That's rather extreme, Satoko." Jack sighed. "It is your insufferable nature that has put a damper on us forming a friendship."

Hm, maybe Jack isn't affected by the Hate Virus as much since he entered the dining room later than everyone else, besides me.

"I don't need the attitude, Jack." Satoko glared. "I've been nothing but nice to you!"

"That's the biggest lie." Jack sneered. "You've accused me of being a lie and a cheat more times than I can count."

I've had enough of this…

"Super-_duper _special attack: Crimson Flame Magic!"

I had taken a lighter from the kitchen.

I burned my finger a little, and poked Jack and Satoko's cheeks.

"H-hey!" Satoko frowned, instantly recoiling.

"Ouch." Jack said, rubbing his cheek.

They looked at each other.

"I have something for you, Satoko." Jack said, pulling the cookie out of his pocket.

"Really?" Satoko blushed, slowly taking it.

"Yes…" Jack said, then frowned. "I feel like I've given it to you before…"

"No, this is the nicest thing you've done for me!" Satoko beamed.

Jack smiled. "I try my best."

Satoko then bonked him on the head. "Why can't you be nice like this all the time?"

* * *

"No, _Frost_, I don't want to hear it!" Koko yelled, crossing her arms and turning from him.

"Using my codename?" Hiiro huffed. "How cruel of you."

"You deserve it!" Koko sneered. "You gave me the lamest gift in history!"

"I commissioned Norikazu to make a portrait of us." Hiiro frowned. "I thought you'd appreciate it, but you're clearly an ungrateful little brat."

"Ok, that's enough." I sighed. "You two need to get over yourselves right now. You **love **each other, so cut this bullshit out."

Suddenly, that same twinkle appeared in their eyes that had appeared in Isami and Shiro.

"Hiiro…" Koko started.

"Koko…" Hiiro started.

The two embraced in a hug, and then Hiiro planted a sweet kiss on Koko's lips.

Huh, that was easy.

"Did you get me something for White Day?" Koko asked with a smile. "Not that it matters of course! Your presence is enough of a gift as it is."

Hiiro chuckled. "Of course I got you something."

He then showed her the same portrait from this morning.

This time, however, she appeared very happy.

"I love it!" She beamed.

"And I love _you_." Hiiro smiled.

This was kinda getting a little cheesy, so I sneakily took my leave…

* * *

"Hm?" Leonia questioned, looking up at me. "What do you need?"

I had Norikazu next to me, after begging him to follow me.

"Hey, you didn't say _she'd _be here." Norikazu glared.

"Well, I didn't say she wouldn't." I shrugged.

"I don't wish to talk to a commoner such as him." Leonia frowned.

"And I refuse to converse with a stuck-up brat such as her." Norikazu shot back.

"All he does is push other people away, only wanting to be by himself." Leonia sighed. "What a sad, lonely life he has."

"I push other people away because they are all dreadfully annoying and boorish." Norikazu sneered. "With the most of them being you, Mari, and Takahashi."

"How _dare _you compare me to those fiends?" Leonia yelled. "I am far superior in every way! If anything, it's _you _who's the terrible one here!"

Norikazu smirked. "Are you forgetting how me and Seizo found you sitting here, all alone? It seems to me no one enjoys your company because of your unlikable and off-putting personality. Isn't that right, Seizo?"

I shook my head. "I'm not getting into this with you two…"

I pinched both of their arms, making them yelp in pain.

"...Huh?" Leonia looked up at me and Norikazu. "What are you two doing here?"

"...I have no idea." Norikazu admitted, his expression confused.

"Ah, are you here to keep my company?" Leonia smiled. "It _is _quite lonely being away from my fiance on this day."

Norikazu nodded. "I can only imagine. My beloved is also back on Earth."

Norikazu took a seat next to Leonia. "This fiance of yours. What's he like? Is he a good man?"

"I think so." Leonia nodded with a chuckle. "After all, I'm engaged to him."

"Hopefully I can meet him some day." Norikazu said. "It'd be quite the encounter."

"After we get out of here, maybe we can go on a double date?" Leonia suggested. "Me, Albert, you, and your beloved. What do you say?"

Norikazu nodded. "Sounds like a plan. It'd be a pleasure."

I left the two alone to discuss the love interests they left behind on Earth.

* * *

It kinda made me sad, thinking about how our friends and family must feel on certain days…

Our birthdays…

The day we disappeared…

Holidays…

It must all be so hard for them.

Luckily for me, unlike Leonia and Norikazu, I didn't have a special somebody to worry about me...

"Seizo!" I turned around to see Akumu look at me with hate in his eyes. "Do you ever listen to me?!"

"What are you talking about?" I sighed.

"Like I said before, you're always in my way!" Akumu yelled. "It's like you think you're the center of attention and the world revolves around you!"

"I get that you're a celebrity and all, but your existence is not as important as you think it is." He continued. "You're a miniscule little thing, so unimportant I bet no one even realizes you're gone."

"Stop, Akumu." I glared.

"Why should I?" Akumu smirked. "You need to have someone teach you a lesson so you'll finally realize the truth. Or would you rather spend your days in ignorance bliss? Thinking people actually like you? _Please_, everyone is nice to you because they don't want to admit how much they despise your presence."

I bit my lip. Geez, this was pretty harsh…

"You're better off just offing yourself." Akumu suggested. "Maybe with a dead body, the ship will think a murder has occured and let us out."

My eyes started to water. "Y-you can't possibly mean that…"

"Why of course I do," Akumu sneered. "You're a waste of space. A useless human being who contributes nothing to this world. You have the _worst _talent out of all of us, and suck the fun out of everything. Y-"

"_**STOP**_!" I screamed, pushing Akumu away.

Tears were threatening to escape from my eyes, but I held them back. I knew deep down Akumu didn't mean what he was saying, but it still stung.

Luckily, I think I snapped him out of it.

"Seizo?" Akumu frowned. "What's wrong?"

"...Nothing." I sighed, wiping my eyes and clearing my throat. "Nothing at all."

* * *

"You fucking bitch, I never said I'd give you a White Day gift." Takahashi grumbled.

"It was inferred, you brute." Mari sneered. "I'm your girlfriend!"

"Hell no," Takahashi snickered. "I'd sooner just resort to jerking off than touching your plastic filled body."

Mari's face turned red. "You idiot, I'm all natural!"

"I'll believe it when I see it, Kardashian." Takahashi rolled his eyes.

"Oh fuck off, you steroid using, self-absorbed, try-hard, loser, _dick_." Mari insulted.

Takahashi flipped her off.

Now, these two...I have no idea whether they're truly affected by the Hate Virus, or just acting like their usual selves.

Only one way to find out!

"Super-duper-_EXTRA _attack: Morine SMASH!"

I pushed Takahashi into Mari, making him hit her head on hers.

"Fuck!" He screamed, rubbing his head in pain.

"What the hell…" Mari muttered, also rubbing her head.

They glanced up at each other.

"This quite a suggestive position, isn't it?" Mari smirked.

"Yeah…" Takahashi nodded. "Why don't we take this somewhere else?"

"Of course." Mari agreed.

The two stood back up, with Takahashi leading Mari out of the dining room.

…

…

…

What

Just

Happened.

Never mind, I don't want to know…

* * *

I made my way back into the announcement room, Silver and Ritsu sitting, waiting for me.

"Well?" Ritsu asked. "Did it work?"

"I'm quite curious myself." Silver admitted.

I collapsed onto a seat next to Silver. "Yes...it did…"

"You look exhausted." Ritsu smirked.

"I am," I answered. "I saw and heard things today I never wanted to see or hear…"

"Well, it is all over now." Silver chuckled. "I wonder how that pesky virus found its way on the ship in the first place!"

"I'm not going to worry about it," I sighed.

"Me neither." Ritsu nodded. "Today has been hectic enough."

* * *

Usami giggled, watching the students on the camera.

She knew it was cruel, but a Hate Virus was part of her plan!

Monokuma had stored it on the ship to use as a murder motive, and Usami released it once she realized how beneficial it could be to her!

The students grew closer today, through getting arguments and fights, ultimately coming together to realize that they care for each other.

Some pairs worked better than others, but Usami's top of the list pair certainly hit it off…

She shuddered to think about what they were doing, but hey, it was love!

She took a pen and crossed off _Mari _and _Takahashi_.

"Now, who's next…"

* * *

We were all gathered in the game room on the second floor, playing karaoke.

"This is dumb." Kuro remarked. "Almost as dumb as that stupid rabbit."

"Don't be rude, Kuro…" Isami chastised.

Kuro pouted, crossing his arms. "Just because you're besties with Shiro doesn't mean _we're _friends…"

"Me next, me next!" Takumi begged, taking the microphone from Koko. "C'mon, Clara, let's sing!"

"Me?" Clara blushed. "But I can't-"

"Nonsense!" Takumi laughed, pulling her towards him.

"Hey, harming him results in a 5 Monocoin penalty!" Sonoda frowned.

"H-he's the one who pulled her…" Nadia deadpanned.

"We should get up there next, Fran." Evelyn smiled.

"Sure!" Francesca nodded. "We can even sing a song in a different language to help me improve in your language lessons!"

"_Perfecto_!" Evelyn cheered.

"I much prefer watching." Leonia admitted. "I've never had much of a stage presence."

"Agree," Norikazu nodded. "I'm more of a behind the scenes man myself."

"Same here," Ritsu shuddered. "Thinking about being in front of a crows makes my skin crawl…"

Silver chuckled. "We couldn't be anymore different. The camera and crowds love me!"

Jack and Satoko were playing air hockey.

"No!" Satoko yelled as she lost.

Jack smirked. "Of course I won. Air hockey is just like roulette."

"How?!" Satoko asked in disbelief.

"Let's sing another song!" Koko smiled.

"Maybe after the next one…" Hiiro said, his face red. "My throat hurts…"

"Want me to make you a pot of coffee?" Koko winked.

"This totally blows…" Mari sighed. "I'd rather-"

"_**Don't **_finish that sentence." Takahashi demanded.

Mari smirked. "As you wish, _Taka_…"

Akumu looked at me strangely. "What's wrong, Seizo? You've looked pretty uncomfortable all night."

I shook my head. "Nothing, I'm just a little tired."

Akumu smiled. "Then get some sleep! You deserve it for all you do."

"All I do?" I repeated.

"Yeah," Akumu nodded. "Like getting along with everyone even though they can be a little annoying sometimes. Or talking to us when we need someone to talk to."

I smiled. "Thanks, Az."

"Anytime, Crim." Akumu smiled back.

What Akumu said earlier wasn't him. It was a hateful version of him.

The Akumu I know and love is caring and friendly, and completely selfless.

I glanced at him, watching him watch Clara and Takumi's disastrous performance.

The two were doing terribly, but he smiled and cheered for them as if they were two famous pop stars.

What a great guy.


	17. Heaven With You (Part 2)

Heaven With You (Part 2)

* * *

Monokuma giggled as he watched the monitors, showing his captives. Most of them were sleeping, probably having dreams of their family, or nightmares of the situation they were in.

"Little do those brats know, they're about to play another game of mine…" He remarked, fiddling with some sort of tool.

"And it's going to tear their friendships apart!" He added with his signature cackle.

* * *

I woke up to a knock on my door.

"What time is it?" I mumbled.

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 7 AM, which means that nighttime is officially over! Time to get up out of bed. Let's all welcome this new day with an open heart and mind!"

Well, that answers my question.

I yawned, slowly trudging over to the door. Let's see who's bothering me before I've had the chance to brush my teeth.

I opened the door, to reveal a very cheery looking Evelyn.

"_Buenos dias_, Seizo." She smiled, looking not at all tired.

"Um, good morning." I nodded, smoothing my hair in an attempt to make myself slightly more presentable.

"Sorry for bothering you this early," Evelyn sheepishly said. "But, I wanted to let you know _not _to get dressed in your normal clothes!"

"What do you mean?" I inquired.

"I mean, this!" Evelyn suddenly pulled something from a bag she was carrying, and threw it into my hands.

I picked it up, observing it.

It was a pair of red swimming trunks, with little white stars on them. The back also bore the word: ACTION in white...

"We're going swimming this morning." Evelyn announced with a bright smile.

"Is that so?" I remarked. "What happened to our morning meetings and the team building activities? Or looking for an escape?"

"Well, I'm sure we'll still have morning meetings," Evelyn said. "But as of today, the whole concept of team building activities and looking for an escape have been abolished, per Takahashi's request."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "Why?"

Evelyn shrugged. "Not sure, and I don't particularly care. I just asked Takahashi if it was okay to gather everyone up to go swimming this morning, and he said yes. Then, he told me what I told you about the team building activities and looking for an escape."

I also shrugged. "Well, looking for an escape was always going to prove fruitless, so I'm glad he came to his senses on that. Plus, anything we do together can be considered a 'team building activity', to be honest. _And_, I think the team building activities are a grim reminder of what happened to Silver..."

Evelyn nodded with a sad smile. "_Genau_…"

"Hey, how do you think swimming will be like with these on?" I asked, gesturing towards the rather heavy ankle bracelets.

"It'll be fine," Evelyn claimed. "Monokuma explained that they're waterproof. Anyways, I have to go wake up everyone else, but be ready by 7:45, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," I nodded.

"Perfect." She smiled and went next door to wake up Hiiro.

I closed the door, looking at the swimming trunks again. Where the hell did she get these?

Hm, something she said gives me an idea...

"**Monokuma**." I called.

In just under a second, the bear in question appeared in front of me.

"Geez, you guys must be obsessed!" Monokuma cackled. "Everyone's been calling on me lately!"

"Like Evelyn, right?" I questioned.

"Exactly!" Monokuma nodded. "She requested 18 swimsuits for all of you guys! I picked them out special for each and every one of you, in your exact size and something that I think you'd _love_. Do you know how much hard work it was for me to dig them out of my closet? I had to-"

"I don't care." I interrupted. "Anyways, now that I have you here, can you give me a pair of flip flops? I don't want to walk around the pool area with my sneakers."

Monokuma frowned, but disappeared.

Less than a minute later, he came back with a pair of black flip flops.

"Hey, you don't have anything designer?" I frowned. "These look like something from the discount store."

"Don't be such a brat, Mr. Morine." Monokuma advised. "It really impacts your popularity rating!"

I sighed. "Okay, _I guess _these will have to do…"

"Yes, they certainly will!" Monokuma huffed. "Anyways, is that all you need? Can I go get some much needed rest now?"

"One last question," I said. "If someone wanted to get something from you that could be used to kill someone, would you give it to them?"

Monokuma giggled. "Why, Seizo? Planning on offing one of your buddies?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not! I was just wondering. Me and Takahashi went through all that trouble to board up the equipment room, after all."

"Well then, to answer your question: **no**! I am well educated on the art of murder, and if I feel like someone is trying to abuse my good graces, than I reserve the right to refuse their request!" Monokuma answered. "Anyone who wishes to kill must do everything themselves."

I nodded. "Good to know. Thanks, I guess."

"Anytime, old friend!" Monokuma cackled, disappearing.

It was reassuring to know that Monokuma wouldn't outright help anyone with committing a murder. Well, besides giving us motives and stuff.

I got dressed in my swimsuit, and left.

* * *

In the hallway, I ran into several of my classmates.

Francesca, Nadia, and Leonia were all conversing amongst themselves.

Francesca and Leonia were both just wearing simple swimsuits. Francesca had on a green bikini, with cartoon bones on it, while Leonia had on a white one-piece, with black hearts.

Nadia, however, was donned in one of the craziest get ups I've ever seen, especially for someone of her age. She was not only wearing an indigo one-piece swimsuit, but also a pair of large round swimming goggles, flippers, one of those duckie floatie things you wear around your waist, and a pair of water wings…

"Good morning, ladies." I greeted, walking up to the trio. "Excited to go swimming?"

"Definitely," Francesca beamed. "It might not be the same as deep sea diving in the Indian Ocean trying to find pieces of Gondwana, but I'm sure it'll be fun."

"It will be nice to relax on the bleachers." Leonia nodded. "Hopefully no one gets too crazy, however...I'd hate to see someone being injured because of foolish behavior."

"I-I'm really excited," Nadia claimed. "I just want to make sure I'm safe, though. T-that's why I'm wearing all this protective gear. So for whatever stunts I do, I won't get hurt!"

I chuckled. "You all have very different perspectives on how you're going to enjoy your time today."

Francesca laughed, tilting her head. "Kinda, huh? Well, whatever our differences, I'm just glad we're doing something together. Hopefully this brings us closer!"

"I agree, Francesca," Nadia smiled. "I-It's definitely nice to hang out with everyone."

"Please, call me **Fran**!" _Fran _said. "It's much easier to say, right?"

"Fran." Leonia repeated. "If that is what you wish, then I will respect it."

"You had one of the longest names here, and now you have one of the shortest." I joked.

"True," Fran giggled. "But, I don't mind. Everyone back home calls me Fran, so I figured you guys should too."

"I think it's almost time!" Nadia suddenly exclaimed.

Fran nodded. "Right. We don't want to be late! Come on, girls!" She and Nadia both took off in the direction of the pool.

"Be careful, you two!" Leonia frowned, following after them. "You'll hurt yourselves if you trip!"

I shook my head with a laugh as I watched the three. All totally different, but they get along nonetheless.

That's the way it should be for everyone here. If only certain people could abide by that…

* * *

In the dining room, I ran into a tired looking Hiiro and Koko.

Koko was wearing a cherry red one-piece, with strawberries on it (the fact that they're not cherries makes my blood boil) while Hiiro was wearing frost colored swim trunks, with little pink stripes.

"What's the matter?" I frowned upon seeing their exhausted expressions.

Koko said nothing, while Hiiro sighed, looking up at me. "Koko had a nightmare last night. It involved Ritsu, so she started feeling sad again and couldn't fall back to sleep. She came to my room, and I talked with her, trying to calm her down."

"I just miss her…" Koko whispered. "And it hurts knowing she wasn't exactly the person she acted like...I wonder if we would've been friends if she was honest from the start."

"You can't think like that, Koko…" I sighed, putting my hand on her shoulder. "Think of the happy memories you two shared. I'm sure that even if she wasn't the cheerful girl she acted like, she still enjoyed her time with you."

"Exactly what I've been saying." Hiiro nodded, allowing Koko to lean on his shoulder. "You can't focus on what would have been or could have been. It'll do nothing but drive you crazy, ok?"

Koko said nothing, staring at the floor with a sad expression.

"Come on, Koko," Hiiro said, taking her hand. "Let's go to the pool. Some time with others should cheer you up."

Koko slowly nodded, allowing Hiiro to lead her out of the dining room and into the announcement room.

Shit, I feel so bad…

Koko clearly cared for Ritsu. From the moment they met, the two clicked just like peanut butter and jelly.

Ritsu's revelation of her true nature and intentions devastated Koko, and are still haunting her to this day. I can only hope that she feels better soon…

"_S-Seizo_." A voice called from behind me.

It was Satoko, who was currently wearing a rosy pink one-piece, with rather childish looking frills on the ends. Her blushing face was almost the same shade as her bathing suit.

"H-Hi," She nervously smiled. "N-nice day, isn't it?"

I chuckled. "Yes, it is. Excited to go swimming?"

Satoko nervously twiddled her thumbs. "Yes...I don't go swimming too often back home, so it's a little foreign to me, but I _think _I'm ready."

"Of course you are," I assured her. "It'll be fun, I promise!"

Just then, the door from the hallway opened, and Jack appeared, wearing a purple swimsuit with the various suits of a deck of cards decorated all over it.

Satoko's blush intensified upon seeing him, and she hid behind me.

"Looking good, Jack," I joked as he approached us.

"You as well, Seizo." Jack nodded, playfully punching me in the shoulder. "And you know I can see you back there, Satoko. Come on out so I can properly compliment your childish looking swimsuit."

"I don't need or want your compliments." Satoko protested, latching onto me and trying to pull me away. "_And _my swimsuit is _not _childish!"

"How cruel," Jack sighed. "You wound me."

"I don't care," Satoko huffed, continuing to pull me away. "Go bother some other girl!"

"Why would I bother someone else when I have you?" Jack sarcastically questioned.

Satoko tensed and dug her nails into me, which hurt quite a bit given that it was into my bare skin. "Y-you don't have me! Quit being an idiot and go away. Me and Seizo were having a conversation like two intelligent people before you _rudely _interrupted us."

"Such an insolent girl," Jack frowned. He crossed his arms and started walking towards the announcement room. "I don't need that kind of negativity in my life, so I'll be on my way now."

And with that, the Ultimate Dealer took his leave.

I chuckled, shaking my head. "That guy has the driest sense of humor I've ever seen."

Satoko let go of me, moving in front of me. Her face was now red as a beet, and she couldn't bear to meet my eyes. "Sorry you had to see that, Seizo. Jack is such a dumb jerk, right?"

"Oh, he's just teasing you," I smirked. "_Probably _because he has a crush on you!"

Amazingly, Satoko's face went from red as a beet to fire engine red!

"Not true!" She protested. "And even if he did, I'd never like a cheating liar like him."

I teasingly ruffled Satoko's hair. "You just keep telling yourself that, Satoko. Maybe if you say it enough times it'll come true?"

Satoko frowned, and she stomped away without a word.

Oops, guess I made her mad.

No problem-o, she'll get over it soon enough!

* * *

I was able to make it to the second floor without any interruptions! I made my way over to the pool, only to see Clara, Takumi, and Sonoda, kneeling on the ground in front of the door…

Clara was dressed in one of those swimsuit dresses, in a dark red color, Takumi in a white swimsuit with purple dots, and Sonoda in black swimming trunks, with dollar signs all over them.

"What's up guys?" I asked, making my way towards them.

Clara and Takumi looked up at me.

"We're searching for Monocoins!" Takumi said excitedly. "Apparently, if we find all one million, Sonoda is going to treat us to a prize!"

"_All _one million?!" I repeated in shock. "But that's surely impossible! I'm sure some of the others have already found some."

"_WHAT_?!" Sonoda sprang up and looked at me with a face of horror. "I didn't think of that! Grr, they're probably all hoarding them like a bunch of greedy children!"

"Like you're doing…?" Clara whispered under her breath, nervously smiling at me.

"I'll need to track everyone down and ask them!" Sonoda nodded. "I'm sure they'll understand and give me their Monocoins once I explain my goal."

"And what goal is that?" I inquired.

"To establish a stable economy on this ship: The HFH Enterprise official **bank**!" Sonoda revealed. "If we truly are going to live here forever, then we need a sense of normalcy. And just like on Earth, I propose that we start charging people for things! Not just for the items in the shop, but also for food in the kitchen, or the use of the washers and dryers."

"I don't think that's a very good idea…" I nervously chuckled. "I mean, we're doing just fine using things for free. Why don't we just keep it that way?"

"Because, my dear friend," Sonoda started, putting his cold hand on my shoulder. "_Then_, it'd be chaos! People will become gluttons, eating all the food we have! _And _people will overuse the laundry machines, breaking them and turning them into hunks of metal! We wouldn't want that, would we?"

"No, I guess not…" I nodded. "I see where you're coming from. But, who would get all these Monocoins? Monokuma?"

"Why me of course!" Sonoda chuckled. "After all, I am the founder of the HFH Enterprise official bank! I think it's only fair, right?"

"And what exactly will you use them for? And how are you going to distribute them anyway?" I raised a brow.

"Well, I have no use for them, so I'll just keep them in my room!" Sonoda smirked. "And people can do little favors for me if they wish to earn some. It'll all be for the good of _all _of us, of course."

I slowly nodded. "Well, sounds like you've thought everything out. Though, I'm definitely not the person you should be telling this to. Takahashi's the one you need to propose your idea to."

Sonoda's expression turned from a confident smirk to a defeated frown. "Oh yeah...Taka _is _the leader, huh…?"

"I'm sure he'll listen to your idea." Takumi assured. "He may be a jerk, but your idea sounds completely foolproof."

"For someone as smart as you, you're kind of thoughtless…" Clara mumbled, shaking her head in disappointment.

"You're right, Takumi!" Sonoda nodded, ignoring Clara and patting the Ultimate Escapist on the back. "That's why you're my **business partner**!"

"Business partner?" Takumi repeated with stars in his eyes. "I've never been involved in a business before...Thank you Sonoda, I'll be sure to make you proud."

Takumi then embraced Sonoda, to which the Ultimate Salesman looked incredibly awkward.

"Heheh, sure thing…" Sonoda mumbled, patting Takumi on the head.

"If Takumi's your business partner, then what am I?" Clara questioned. "You _did _rope me into this whole thing after all."

"Why, you're my accountant of course!" Sonoda declared. "You're in charge of keeping track of all of the Monocoins that come into our possession."

"That sounds like a lot of work…" Clara commented.

"What, you're not up for the challenge?" Sonoda asked with a sly smile. "I thought you'd do _anything _to make people forgive you about what you did to poor Takahashi."

Clara blushed, and bit her lip. "Ok, ok...I'll do it."

I frowned. That was a little below the belt…

Sonoda smirked and patted Clara on the back. "That's my accountant! Now, I declare an official company break! Let's go to the pool!"

And with that, the trio that composed the _unofficial _HFH Enterprise 'official' **bank**, entered the pool room.

* * *

I finally entered the pool room, probably a little late.

Everyone was either swimming or playing around in the pool, or relaxing on the bleachers, talking to each other.

Nadia in particular looked like she was enjoying the pool. She stood at the top of the diving board, and without any hesitation, dived head first into the pool! Then, she shot up and did a backflip! _Damn_, you'd never know this girl was one of the shyest people here!

Isami, wearing a black one-piece swimsuit, with the design of fire lining the edges, and Norikazu, wearing green swimming trunks decorated with paint splatter and a white t-shirt, were both sitting on either side of Shiro/Kuro, who was wearing swimming trunks, one side being white while the other was black (kinda like Monokuma, minus the creepy red eye).

Norikazu strangely had his arm around Shiro or Kuro's neck, pinning him down so he couldn't move.

A very concerned Fran approached them. "Um, what are you guys doing to poor Shiro?"

"I'm _not _Shiro!" _Kuro _yelled. "These assholes won't let me go!"

"We're waiting until he changes back into Shiro." Noirkazu explained. "We don't want the insufferable Kuro causing any trouble…"

"Yes, he is quite loud and annoying…" Isami commented. "I don't know why he can't just stay as Shiro all the time…"

"It doesn't work that way, you drugged up bitch!" Kuro snarled. "Like it or not, me and Shiro share the same body, and you're going to have to deal with both of u-"

Norikazu covered Kuro's mouth with his hand. "My God, can you _please_ shut up?"

Kuro simply glared at Norikazu in response.

"Ah, finally, silence…" Isami said with a small smile. "Maybe now I can take a nap…"

Fran slowly walked away from the three, a slightly horrified expression on her face.

"I just don't get that girl." Mari sneered, wearing a revealing blue bikini, that was probably a size or two small for her. She was sitting next to Takahashi and Sonoda, with the former wearing orange swimming trunks with dark pink planes decorated all over them.

Takahashi raised a brow and turned towards her. "...Get what girl?"

"_Her._" Mari replied, pointing at Clara, who was swimming around in the pool with Takumi. "Why should she be able to be close to any of us after what she did? She's a murderer! I don't feel safe with her around…"

"Careful, that's my accountant you're talking about…" Sonoda chuckled.

"Mari, if I don't care, you shouldn't either," Takahashi shrugged, leaning back. "Get over it already."

"How can you be so nonchalant about her?!" Mari frowned, crossing her arms. "The bitch tried to kill you!"

"But she didn't," Takahashi yawned. "Now, can you please shut up? That pretty face of yours makes you interesting enough to keep around, but your voice annoys the hell out of me."

Mari glared at Takahashi, leaning away from him and continuing to stalk Clara.

"Why am I friends with them again?" Sonoda muttered.

Watching my classmates was fun and all, but it was time for me to get in on the action!

I started walking towards the pool, but was interrupted by a loud noise.

"_Boo_!" A voice yelled from behind me.

I jumped in surprise, and turned around, to see Akumu, who looked quite proud of himself.

"I scared ya, didn't I?" He smiled. He was wearing dark blue swimming trunks, with claw marks decorated all over them.

"Hell yeah," I frowned, putting a hand over my heart, which was beating fast. "I thought I was about to get murdered or something!"

Akumu laughed. "Oh, you're so dramatic, Seizo! I'd never murder you, don't worry."

I shook my head. "Well, sorry, but I can't say the same!"

I picked him up, and threw him into the pool.

Then, I jumped in after him.

"H-Hey!" Akumu exclaimed after he swam up to the surface. "It's not very nice to throw a half-blind guy into a pool!"

I chuckled. "Oh, you're so dramatic, Akumu! I didn't kill you, did I?"

Akumu smirked, shaking his head. "You're the meanest, Seizo!"

"Why, thank you!" I grinned, splashing him with water.

Unfortunately for me, Fran happened to be behind him, and she also got a face full of water.

"Uh oh…" I mumbled, as the Ultimate Archaeologist slowly turned towards me.

"_Oh_, it is so on!" She exclaimed, using both of her hands to send a wave of water at me!

I quickly swam out of the way, but was still hit!

"_Ahh_!" I screamed. I blinked open my eyes, and sent a splash towards her.

"I got you, Seizo!" Akumu remarked, turning around and also attempting to splash her.

She moved out of the way with excellent speed, dodging my splash. Akumu managed to hit the person behind her, however, which was a very angry looking Hiiro.

"Hey!" He frowned. "No splashing in the po-"

His words were cut short by yet another splash of water hitting him, this time from behind him.

It was Koko!

She giggled, innocently smiling. "Sorry Hiiro, but this looks like so much fun!"

"So this is what's going to cheer you up?" He deadpanned, nervously glancing at Fran, Akumu, and I.

"Yup!" She nodded, splashing him again.

"Don't think I forgot about you!" Fran suddenly exclaimed, sending a splash towards me. I moved out of the way this time, and used all my strength to send the biggest wave of water I could form towards her.

She couldn't move out of the way this time, and was hit with the blast!

"_Ahhh_!" She screamed, flying backwards and bumping into Clara and Takumi.

"Ouch," Takumi frowned. "That wasn't very nice, Seizo!"

"Oh, she's fine!" I said dismissively.

True to my word, Fran quickly recovered rubbing her eyes and moving her hair out of her face.

"I'll get you back for that!" She declared, preparing to splash me again.

"We got your back!" Clara added, moving next to her and also preparing to splash.

"Yeah!" Takumi nodded, doing the same.

"Uh oh…" I mumbled.

The three all sent their splashes towards me at once, and I was hit with the full force!

The impact pushed me all the way to the other side of the pool, and disoriented me for a few seconds.

"Are you ok?!" Satoko frantically questioned, swimming over to me.

"I think so," Jack answered for me. "He doesn't look hurt."

"That was way too hard, guys!" Leonia frowned, watching us from the bleachers, and glaring at Clara, Takumi, and Fran.

"Please be careful!" Evelyn added, sitting next to her and wearing an orange bikini, decorated with marigold flowers.

"Sorry!" Takumi nervously smiled.

"It won't happen again!" Clara added.

"Hehe, won't it?" Fran whispered under her breath.

"I'm ok," I assured them. "And I'm ready to get back into the action!"

"I advise _against _that." Satoko frowned. "If you get hit like that again, you might not be so lucky."

"Yeah, you could die." Jack joked.

"Don't be ridiculous!" I protested. "I'll be more careful, I promise."

Satoko looked at me with a disapproving expression. "_Seizo_…"

"Satoko," I whined. "Pleaseeee let me play with the other kids!"

"**Yeah, Satoko, let him play**!"

We all looked up, to see Monokuma standing in front of the door.

He had black swimming trunks on, which was the creepiest thing I've seen since I've been here.

"Don't be such a buzzkill, Ms. Ultimate Prodigy!" Monokuma advised. "It doesn't do a whole lot to make the fans like you!"

Satoko rolled her eyes at the mechanical bear. "I don't know what fans you're talking about, and I don't really care about anyone liking me."

"What are you doing here?" Takahashi frowned, standing up from the bleachers. "I really don't want to hear that god awful voice of yours this early in the morning."

"Hey, a music producer once said my voice would be perfect for narrating audio books!" Monokuma claimed. "He said The Communist Manifesto would be perfect for me!"

"I doubt anyone would listen to an audio book narration of The Communist Manifesto, especially from a voice as annoying as yours…" Isami said.

"I think I'd rather listen to nails scratching a chalkboard." Norikazu added.

"Well, there goes my hopes and dreams…" Monokuma sniffed. "You guys destroyed them for me...and to think I came here to give you guys a **gift**."

"_Another _gift?" Takumi frowned. "Sounds suspicious…"

"Yeah, we don't want it." Fran nodded. "Especially since it's coming from you."

"Well, too bad!" Monokuma dismissed, crossing his arms. "You guys have no choice! Come to the announcement room in the next **10 minutes **or face punishment!"

Andddd he was gone.

We all looked at each other with slightly worried expressions.

"If it's a gift coming from Monokuma, it's not a gift at all." Evelyn frowned.

"Exactly," Leonia sighed. "This can't be good."

"Well, the past two gifts he's given us were kinda nice." Akumu reminded us. "Silver's prize and the second floor. Maybe it's something like that!"

"I dunno, Akumu…" I said. "I don't have a good feeling about this…"

"This is _so _annoying." Mari whined. "I'm trying to relax by the pool and now I have to walk _all _the way to the announcement room?"

"You're so goddamn lazy." Kuro, who was now free from Norikazu's grasp, sneered. "Can't you do all of us a favor and just off yourself?"

"Geez, that was uncalled for," Sonoda commented.

"_Totally_." Mari agreed, glaring at Kuro. "Who asked you for your opinion Mr. Hyde?"

"No one," Kuro shrugged. "But I'm sure we're all thinking about it. You're the biggest mega bitch I've ever seen. You make Monokuma look like a saint."

"I do not!" Mari protested. "You're one to talk, Kuro. You're foulmouthed and have nothing nice to say. _You're _the mega bitch here, not me."

"_Enough_." Takahashi suddenly yelled. "Kuro, shut the fuck up and keep your opinions to yourself. Mari, arguing with him isn't going to help anything, so just try to ignore him. Everyone, let's go."

Takahashi started walking towards the door, with an annoyed Mari and snickering Sonoda following him.

One by one, we all exited the pool, quickly drying ourselves off with towels that Evelyn had brought, and following Takahashi to the announcement room.

Just as I was about to leave, I noticed Kuro was still sitting on the bleachers.

He looked completely uninterested in what was going on, and just sat there doing nothing.

I sighed, approaching him. "C'mon Kuro. Like it or not, we have to listen to Monokuma and Takahashi."

"Fuck off," Kuro spat. "I don't take orders from some ginger flight attendant,_ or_ from some talking stuffed animal."

"You might not want to, but you have to." I frowned. "Otherwise you'll get yourself killed. And even though you're one of the most negative people here, I doubt you'd want that for yourself."

Kuro rolled his eyes. "Tch...I wonder what'd happen. If I died."

I raised a brow. "Uh, well, I guess it depends on your beliefs on life after d-"

"That's not what I'm talking about you idiot," Kuro glared. "I'm just wondering if I die, will Shiro die too…"

I nodded. "You share the same body, so yeah."

"We may share the same body," Kuro said. "But we're two different people, y'know."

"Is that really how split personalities work?" I inquired.

Kuro snickered. "Oh, no one told you? I'm not just some split personality brought on by a traumatic incident Shiro went through or some shit. I'm a **spirit **who inhabits his body to protect him from assholes like Mari and Takahashi."

…

…

"That was the lamest joke I've ever heard." I frowned.

Kuro shrugged. "Believe it or don't believe it, I don't care. Ask Shiro if you want. He'll tell you his version of the story."

"If you really are a spirit, then how come your names are so similar?" I asked.

"Kuro's not my real name, dumbass." He responded.

He stood up and started walking towards the door. "Anyways, I'm getting tired of talking to you. You're dumb as fuck."

I rolled my eyes at the Ultimate Occultist. He's an asshole spirit who shares a body with Shiro in order to protect him from bullies? Give me a break, that sounds like the plot of a bad manga.

* * *

I finally made my way over to the announcement room, to behold quite a strange sight.

Instead of the chairs that were usually there, there were now 18 small booths, that look like those weird voting things in America.

Everyone was standing around, looking just as confused as me.

"Are we going to vote for the next leader maybe?" Clara suggested.

"Hell no," Takahashi disagreed. "Remember, the rule says I'm the leader, no matter what. Well, unless someone made another rule without consulting us…"

I checked my e-Handbook. "Nope. There are no new rules that cancel out the one you suggested to Monokuma."

Takahashi smirked. "Good."

"Shouldn't we make one though?" Norikazu suggested. "After all, Takahashi has proven to be quite unworthy as a leader. Silver and Ritsu are both dead after all."

"Fuck you." Takahashi glared.

"I don't mind Takahashi being the leader." Akumu shrugged. "Just means that the rest of us don't have to worry about any diplomatic duties!"

"True…" Isami nodded. "Remember, Takahashi had to get all of that stuff from Monokuma for the party…"

"And he was supposed to pick up Takumi after his time in the infirmary was over." I brought up. "It seems like Monokuma is relying on Takahashi for everything just because he's the leader."

"Yeah, and I don't mind unlike some of the lazy asses in here." Takahashi shrugged. "Now can you all shut up about me and start focusing on the actual problem at hand?" He added, gesturing to the booths.

"Is this the gift Monokuma was talking about?" Takumi wondered.

He walked on over to a booth, and pulled aside the curtain.

"Hey, be careful!" I advised, quickly following after him.

He opened the curtain, revealing a screen.

On the screen was displayed:

_Jack Masaki vs. Mari Tamatsuki _

_**Jack**__,_

_**SPARE**_

_**ELIMINATE**_

"What the hell…" I muttered.

"What is this?" Takumi questioned.

Everyone also gathered around to see.

"Oh look, it's me." Jack commented.

"Versus _me_?" Mari frowned.

"And he has the choice to spare or eliminate you." Hiiro read.

"Ooo, now's your chance, Jack!" Kuro smirked. "Get rid of her once and for all!"

"Yes, make the choice!" _He _said. We all turned around, to see Monokuma standing behind us. "Spare your friends, or eliminate them! It's all up to you."

"Monokuma, what is the meaning of this?" Takahashi frowned. "Is this a game or something?"

"A game indeed!" Monokuma nodded. "**Traitor/Truce **to be exact!"

"Traitor/Truce," Leonia repeated. "I assume truce relates to the spare choice of the game, while traitor relates to the eliminate aspect?"

"Exactly!" Monokuma said. "The rules of the Traitor/Truce game are as follows:

You will be randomly partnered with one of your classmates. This partner can be anyone, you don't get to choose!

Your partner and you will both be given the same choices:

To **spare **them, or **eliminate **them!

However, it isn't so simple…

If Girl A chooses spare, while Girl B chooses eliminate, Girl A is **eliminated**!

If Girl A chooses spare, and Girl B _also _chooses spare, then the two both stay in the game.

Similarly, if Girl A and Girl B _both _choose eliminate, then the two both stay in the game.

Eliminate your partners one by one and become the Traitor/Truce game winner! _Or_, spare them, and stick together!"

"Hey, this actually sounds kinda fun," Takumi grinned. "It's like the Game of Life!"

"..._How_, exactly, is this like the Game of Life?" Evelyn nervously laughed.

"What happens to our partner if they are eliminated?" Koko questioned with a concerned frown.

"You'll just have to wait and see!" Monokuma cackled.

"And what's the prize of becoming the winner of the Traitor/Truce game?" Norikazu inquired.

"You'll just have to wait and see!" Monokuma cackled.

"Why are we even playing this…?" Isami sighed.

"You'll just have to wait and see!" Monokuma cackled.

"Are we playing right now or something?" I asked. "Is that why you've gathered us here?"

"You'll just-Oh yeah," Monokuma nodded. "The first round of the Traitor/Truce game starts _right now_!"

"Right now?!" Satoko frantically repeated.

"Right now." Monokuma nodded. "Go find your booth, and make your choice! And you better only vote with _your _booth, otherwise you'll be punished!"

We all frantically scrambled, looking in every booth until we found our name.

Finally, I found mine, close to the end of the line of booths.

I nervously entered it, feeling anxiety in the pit of my stomach. Something about this didn't feel right…

My screen displayed the following:

_Seizo Morine vs. Isami Kanagi_

_**Seizo, **_

_**SPARE**_

_**ELIMINATE**_

Well, this was an obvious choice. I wasn't going to eliminate someone without knowing what would happen to them. Especially Isami.

I pressed 'spare'. As soon as I did, a voice sounded from a speaker in the screen.

"You've chosen spare. Please do not leave the room until instructed to do so."

I frowned. Well, this was slightly concerning…

I could do nothing but wait, however. I didn't want to see what would happen if I disobeyed the voice.

…

…

…

A few minutes later, the voice finally spoke again. "Please exit the room. Please go in front of the stage, where voting results will be displayed for all participants of the Traitor/Truce game. Thank you."

I quickly left, and saw everyone did the same.

We all stayed quiet, wordlessly making our way to the stage.

There was now a large screen in front of the podium.

Monokuma was standing next to it.

"Round 1 of the Traitor/Truce game is now over!" He announced. "Let's see what choices everyone made this time around, hm?"

The screen powered on, and one by one, our voting results were displayed…

_Nadia Levitsky vs. Shiro/Kuro_

_Nadia: __**SPARE**_

_Shiro/Kuro: __**SPARE**_

_Satoko Kiyomizu vs. Evelyn Bryant _

_Satoko: __**SPARE**_

_Evelyn: __**SPARE**_

_Jack Masaki vs. Mari Tamatsuki_

_Jack: __**SPARE**_

_Mari: __**SPARE**_

_Norikazu Kanno vs. Francesca Croft_

_Norikazu: __**SPARE**_

_Francesca: __**SPARE**_

_Akumu Tsubasa vs. Takahashi Jirou_

_Akumu: __**SPARE**_

_Takahashi: __**SPARE**_

_Leonia Taylor vs. Koko Kagawa_

_Leonia: __**SPARE**_

_Koko: __**SPARE**_

_Hiiro Sayoama vs. Sonoda Eisen_

_Hiiro: __**SPARE**_

_Sonoda: __**SPARE**_

_Seizo Morine vs. Isami Kanagi _

_Seizo: __**SPARE**_

_Isami: __**SPARE**_

_Clara Odette vs. Takumi Kyoshi_

_Clara: __**SPARE**_

_Takumi: __**SPARE**_

I breathed a sigh of relief. None of us were eliminated…

"Hmph," Mari huffed. "I'm surprised. I was willing to bet money that Kuro would eliminate his partner."

"I wouldn't eliminate people like Nadia." Kuro glared. "She doesn't deserve it, unlike you."

"Thanks Isami," I smiled. "For not eliminating me."

"You haven't done anything to annoy me…" Isami said. "So there's not a reason to eliminate you…"

So if I annoyed her she would've eliminated me?!

"Wow, you spared me, Takahashi?" Akumu smiled. "Thanks!"

"Shut up," Takahashi said. "I only did it because I don't know what'll happen if I chose eliminate…"

"Aw man," Monokuma whined. "I thought for sure that one of you would've been a snake and chosen to eliminate your partner!"

"Hell no," I frowned. "We're all in this together. No matter how we view each other, we won't betray each other."

"Upupupu," Monokuma laughed. "Are you forgetting what Ritsu did to Silver?"

"Of course not," I sighed. "I'm just saying that none of us will make that mistake again."

"That's what you say _now_," Monokuma ominously said. "But you'll change your tune soon enough. This whole killing game is a game of survival, just like the Traitor/Truce game is! You guys aren't friends, you're enemies! Like it or not, someone has to come out on top and be the one to leave this place! And you'd be lying if you say that you didn't want that someone to be you."

We all glanced downwards, feeling a sense of distrust among each other after Monokuma's words…

Ugh, fuck him! Yes, we all want to be the one to go home, but I'm sure as hell not willing to kill someone just to achieve that! Killing someone doesn't just destroy one life, it destroys their friends, family, and even accomplices. I'm not selfish enough to stoop to that level, and no matter how mean or shitty some of the people here are, I think they feel the same way!

Ritsu didn't kill to leave, she killed because she thought Silver was the mastermind who put us all here! If we stay strong, and use logic instead of force like Ritsu did, I'm sure we'll all make it out of here alive.

"You're right, Monokuma." Takahashi suddenly said. "I do want to be the one to leave this place. And I'm sure everybody else does too."

"Takahashi…" I whispered, frowning at the Ultimate Pilot.

"The thought of killing someone has crossed my mind once or twice," He revealed. "It's crossed everyone's minds, whether they admit it or not."

"But, rest assured, you little shit," He continued. "No matter how many people are going to die, _I'm _going to survive. And I'm going to find out who's controlling you, beat the shit out of them, and steer this ship back home to Earth."

"My, my, you sound confident!" Monokuma remarked. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you, Mr. Jirou! You underestimate my power."

"And you underestimate mine." Takahashi shot back. "I'm Takahashi Jirou, the Ultimate fucking Pilot. And I'm going to be the one to put an end to this killing game."

* * *

_A/N_: **Woop woop, part 2 is done and over with! I'm really enjoying chapter 2 so far, what about you guys? I think it's easier to write now that our characters have formed friendships with each other. **

**There's a few important things to note about this chapter...Let me know if you can guess what they are! Also, what do you guys think about the Traitor/Truce game? Are you surprised Monokuma introduced it this early? Do you have a theory on _why _Monokuma introduced it? **

**As always, thank you guys for reading, and I'll be seeing you in the next one! :)**


	18. Heaven With You (Part 3)

Heaven With You (Part 3)

* * *

_**Day 11 aboard the HFH Enterprise...**_

I blinked open my eyes.

Yet again, I awoke to the sight of the same ceiling from last night…

I sighed my thousandth sigh since I've been here. It's been a whopping total of three long days since Cotton's party, Silver's murder, _and_ Ritsu's trial/execution.

It's been hard on all of us, but I and several others are doing our best to try and stay positive despite our grim circumstances. In the words of the wise Akumu: "Negativity gets you nowhere!".

Yesterday, we started our day with a fun morning in the pool, organized by Evelyn. Among the interesting events that transpired were Norikazu restraining Kuro, Mari stalking Clara, and a splash fight that ended in me almost getting injured by Fran, Clara, and Takumi...

_However_, the day quickly took a turn for the worst, when Monokuma barged into the pool, and summoned us all to the announcement room (which is never for a good thing).

Once we arrived, we realized something was going on. As always, we were right, and Monokuma revealed the strange and suspicious Traitor/Truce game that he forced us to play, which pins two people against each other. Luckily, we all spared one another, so none of us were eliminated.

Afterwards, Monokuma once again fueled distrust in all of us by reiterating the harsh truth of the killing game: we're all enemies in a fight to be the one person to be able to return home to Earth.

Takahashi, however, had quite a lot to say to the bear, and revealed his plan to be the one to end the killing game. Monokuma, of course, dismissively laughed in his face and disappeared, but Takahashi's bold statement made me respect the guy a bit more...

After that, we all went our separate ways, doing whatever we wanted. I personally spent the rest of the day in my room, trying to catch up on some sleep. I've been feeling exhausted lately...

Oh, by the way, some pretty sad news.

Koko isn't feeling well, mentally, at all. She asked to be excused from her cooking duties until further notice, and Takahashi accepted. Until she comes back, we won't be having any meals together, so no servers. It's every man for himself in regards to making meals now.

_And _because the whole concept of bodyguards kinda failed, with Silver's death, that too was abolished…

Jeez, the differences between our first days in this place and these recent days are depressing.

We started out with 20, and now only have 18.

We _used_ to eat two meals a day together, but now we all eat at different times, sometimes with someone else and sometimes just by ourselves (which some people, like Isami and Norikazu, didn't seem to mind).

We _used_ to be _almost _completely trustful of each other, but now…

With Silver and Ritsu's death, _plus _this whole Traitor/Truce game, it's getting hard to trust people in this place. Tensions are at an all time high and snide comments and arguments are becoming normal, which is pretty damn sad to see.

Trying to clear my head of my negative thoughts, I finally got out of bed, deciding to put a smile on my face to start the day! I know times are tough now, but there's nothing we can't get through together!

* * *

I left my room and almost immediately ate my words.

"You stupid bitch!" Mari screamed. She had her hands on her hips, and was currently cornering Clara.

"I'm sorry…" Clara sighed. "I didn't know you could hear my dancing from _two_ rooms away…"

"Well I can!" Mari glared. "And I'm _positive _that if I ask Evelyn and Isami, they'll also tell me how annoyingly obnoxious it is."

I quickly walked over to the quarreling duo. "What's going on here? Uh, what's this about annoying dancing?"

Mari turned towards me, a frown on her face. "Clara here is being _totally_, completely, and utterly inconsiderate! She does these morning workouts at like 6 AM, and her loud ass feet hitting the ground wake me up from my beauty sleep!"

"You can really hear her working out from two rooms away?" I questioned, skeptically raising a brow. "That sounds like a total, complete, and utter lie..."

"A lie you say?" Mari gasped. "That's pretty accusatory of you, Seizo. Calm down, hon, this isn't a trial..."

"Ugh, forget about it Seizo." Clara interjected, sighing once again. "I already apologized to Mari and told her I'd be quieter. Now can we just drop this?"

"S-" I was just about to respond, when Mari put on the creepiest smile, and turned towards Clara, putting a manicured hand on her shoulder.

"_Of course_." Mari smirked. "You know what? You're right, Clara! I was _way _too harsh for calling you an inconsiderate stupid bitch, and I apologize for that. To make it up to you, why don't you sit next to me at breakfast so we can have a little girl talk?"

"Uh no," Clara protested. "That's not necessary. I do accept your apology, though, so thanks for that..."

"Come on," Mari insisted. I noticed her grip grow tighter as she touched Clara's shoulder. "_I insist._"

I frowned, moving closer to Mari. "Mari, drop it. She doesn't want to eat breakfast with you, so just leave her alone."

"Let the girl make decisions for herself, Seizo." Mari said, rolling her eyes. "She's really good at it, after all. Making decisions, I mean…"

Clara narrowed her eyes, her face turning red. "Ok, fine...I'll, um, eat breakfast with you for today."

Mari let go of her shoulder and beamed. "_Yay_!" She cheered. "We're going to have _so _much fun together! You've probably never gotten a chance to sit with the popular kids before, so this will be quite the change of pace for you!"

Clara said nothing, continuing to avert Mari's gaze.

"Clara," I called, ignoring Mari. "You don't have to eat with her if you don't want to. Don't let her pressure you into doing something."

"I'm fine, Seizo." Clara insisted. "And I'm not letting her do anything to me."

"Yeah, _Seizo_," Mari sneered. "Back off. Let us girls have our fun. I _would _invite you to sit with us because you're _kinda _popular, but I really want some one on one time with Clara and the rest of my crew, so..."

She grabbed Clara's hand, and started pulling her to the dining room. "Come on, Clara. Let's make sure to get the good seats…"

I frowned as the two walked through the doors leading to the dining room. Something was definitely up with the Ultimate Runway Model. What the hell is Mari planning…?

* * *

Walking into the dining room, I saw that the tables strangely weren't together anymore, and were now back to how they were on our first day here.

The hell?

I immediately walked over to Takahashi, who wasn't sitting down, instead standing near a table composed of Mari, Clara, Sonoda, and Takumi (the last of which didn't look thrilled to be sitting at a table with Mari).

"What do you want?" Takahashi asked immediately upon seeing me.

"The tables," I started. "Why aren't they together anymore?"

Takahashi shrugged. "Wasn't up to me. Monokuma did it himself."

I frowned. "But why?"

"Beats me," Takahashi answered. "Now can you scram? I'm trying to think here…"

I rolled my eyes, but left Takahashi and his thoughts alone.

Damn, Monokuma has been a dick for the past two days! It's almost like he's trying to-

"Tear us apart…" Isami muttered. The Ultimate Tinkerer was sitting at a table with Norikazu. Shiro was nowhere to be found (hm, maybe he's Kuro right now and is still holed up in his room).

I approached them.

"Exactly what I was thinking," I sighed, sitting next to Isami. She strangely shifted away from me and glared, but quickly regained her composure. I shrugged it off.

Isami had her journal open, and was opened to a page reading:

_**Week Two**_

_Traitor/Truce. Clearly a way to push us away from each other. _

_Today, Monokuma pushed the tables away in the dining room. Yet __**another**__ way to push us away from each other…_

"You keep track on what happens in the killing game, Isami?" I asked. "That's a good idea."

"No." She replied, not turning away from her journal.

Norikazu scoffed. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" I inquired.

Norkazu shook his head, turning away from me. "It is not my place to say." Huh? Not his place to say?

Isami finally looked up at me, the expression on her face hard to read as ever. "I have **anterograde amnesia**."

…

…

…

"H-huh?!" I asked in surprise. Amnesia? Anterograde?

"...I don't know the exact cause," She started. "But ever since I was little, I've been unable to form new memories. I can't even remember what I eat for breakfast..._if _I don't write it down in my journal and read it back later..."

She then closed her journal, and set it on the table, narrowing her eyes. "...My journal is my brain and mind. It's how I remember all of your names, and the fact that we're in a killing game in the first place. Without, I'd be confused and lost..."

"Wow," I remarked. My eyes were wide, and I could barely form any words. "I-I had no idea, Isami. I'm really sorry..."

"It's not your fault," Isami shrugged, shaking her head "It makes my life a little harder, but I get through it…"

"I'm sure it does," I sighed. "But you've clearly risen above your condition. I mean, you're an Ultimate, after all!" I added with a comforting smile.

"Yes…" Isami nodded, a very slight hint of a smile on her face. "I am."

Suddenly, the door to the dining room from the laundry room hallway flung open.

Kuro (obvious from his angry expression) stormed in, with Nadia in tow.

He stood near the door. "Do you assholes think I'm stupid or something?" He angrily asked, addressing everyone in the room.

"Well, kinda yeah." Takahashi sarcastically answered.

Kuro flipped him off.

"What are you doing to Nadia?" Fran angrily asked, standing up from her chair and walking over to him. The occultist didn't look phased whatsoever at the archaeologist's anger.

"D-don't worry!" Nadia quickly spoke up, stepping in front of Kuro. "I'm fine, I promise!"

"This chick right here thought I was Shiro," Kuro sneered, glaring at Nadia. "She spilled the beans about your little plan, Isami and Norikazu."

I turned to Isami and Norikazu, who looked rather annoyed at the Ultimate Occultist.

"What plan?" I asked. "And why is it making you so tight? Relax man, all your yelling isn't good for your blood pressure." I added.

"You are the stupidest fucker I've ever met," Kuro muttered, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, Jack and Sally over there came up with the '_bright_' idea of knocking Shiro over the head to 'knock me out of him'."

…

…

…

"Ugh, he's kidding, right?" I nervously asked Norkazua and Isami. I wanted to get rid of Kuro as much as the next guy, but knocking Shiro over the head seems a bit extreme...

"It wasn't a plan that we made up," Norikazu frowned. "It was just an idea. Hmph, not even that; more like a thought."

"Yes…" Isami nodded. "We never actually intended to go through with it. We just wanted to think of a way to get rid of you forever..."

"Bullshit," Kuro sneered. "I'm sure you two are more than dumb enough to try something stupid like that. And I'm not going anywhere, dumbasses."

He pushed Nadia away from him (with Fran quickly taking her hand and pulling her even further away from him), and opened the door leading to the laundry room hallway.

Before leaving, he addressed us all once again. "Anybody of you assholes thinking of hurting Shiro have to go through me first. And I guarantee you I won't let you lay a finger on him."

The white haired boy then went through the door, slamming it shut, resounding in a loud thud that made some people jump.

Isami and Norikazu said nothing, instead going back to slowly eating their breakfast.

"What a roach," Mari scoffed. "He thinks he's _sooo _much better than all of us!"

I rolled my eyes. Sounds exactly like someone I know...

* * *

After a tense breakfast, I decided to let off some steam in the game room on the second floor. I haven't gotten the chance to play my favorite arcade game, air hockey, in a while and it was driving me crazy.

Inside, I ran into a sad looking Koko.

She was sitting by herself on the couch, flipping the pages of a food magazine. She didn't actually look like she was reading it, most likely only skimming through it to distract herself.

I sadly frowned as I watched her. This wasn't the cheerful young girl I meant when I first opened that door leading to the kitchen…

_The girl quickly turned her attention away from the fridge and towards us. She smiled and quickly made her way over to us. _

_"Hi there! You must be the last three." The girl said. Her voice was pleasant and energetic, befitting of her quirky appearance. _

_We introduced ourselves to her._

_"It's nice to meet you!" She smiled. "My code name is Cherry, a shade of red."_

_"Cherry?" I chuckled. "So we have Crimson, Azure, Rose, and Cherry. These codenames sure are creative..."_

Her smile was contagious, and the happy energy that she radiated made my feel so much better.

So seeing her in pain was excruciating for me…

I cautiously approached her, not wanting to startle her or anything.

"Koko?" I called in a soft voice.

She looked up and offered me a small smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh! Hi, Seizo. What're you doing here?"

"I came here to let off some steam," I explained, taking a seat next to her. "Maybe play a game or something. Wanna join?"

She slowly shook her head, her smile faltering. "Sorry...I'm just not in the mood right now."

"Is...Is it Ritsu?" I asked in a concerned tone.

She nodded. "Yes...It just...really hurts.

One second, someone's next to you. They're alive, breathing, and well! And then the next...they're gone. You can never see them smile, or hear their voice ever again...

I, um, know Ritsu wasn't the greatest person. She _did _take Silver's life, after all. But still. She was my friend...

We had so many conversations about random things, and she laughed at all my lame puns. She was almost like the sister I never had, haha…"

I kept my mouth shut, letting her pour out her feelings as much as she needed to.

"You wanna know something?" Cherry asked, a hint of smile appearing on her face after turning to look at me. "My family is probably the most important thing in the world to me.

When I was first starting out as a food critic, my parents were super supportive of me. They own a restaurant back in my hometown, and I'd sample every single new item they put on the menu! They listened to me _completely_. They trusted me that much! They believed in my talent, and allowed me to harness it.

When I started to become more and more well known, there were so many talent agencies and people looking for me to come to their restaurants. But, I didn't want that life. I wanted to spend it with my family, in our small little town, forever…

Of course, your dreams don't always come true, and eventually, this agency made me an offer I couldn't refuse. It would set up my parents for life! They didn't have to ever worry about running out of ingredients again, or worrying about paying business rent. So, I decided to take it.

I got to travel the entire country, sampling all different kinds of cuisine. I wrote magazine articles, ran a blog, and even appeared as a guest judge on several popular cooking shows!

But, deep down, I always wondered...Was this _truly_ the life I wanted? All of the fame and fortune? On one hand, it allowed me to experience amazing opportunities that I would have never gotten to experience if I stayed home. The fame I got is what made Hope's Peak aware of me, after all.

But then on the other, I really missed my family. I traveled home as much as I could, but my busy schedule didn't make it possible _all _the time. I missed birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays...Most of the time, if I wasn't working, I was holed up in a hotel room all alone with nothing but a TV and snacks to keep me company…

Anyways, my point is: if I had made that decision to _not _become signed to that talent agency, then my life would be so much different…

And if Ritsu hadn't made the decision to kill Silver, then hers would be too..

I know the decisions we made in the past won't ever change. But still, you have to wonder: what would life be like if I had said no instead of yes?"

Koko finished her story, glancing downwards again and sadly frowning.

"Koko," I said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "You're right. We'll never not wonder about what would've happened if we made a different choice in our lives. But, you have to remember, every single thing in life happens for a reason, whether we realize it sooner or later.

If you'd have never signed to that talent agency, you might have never become an Ultimate. Which means, you never would have been invited to attend Hope's Peak, which means you never would've met me, Hiiro, or **Ritsu**!

Of course, that also means you wouldn't be in this Killing Game, so I suppose you can look at it from two perspectives…

But that's just the thing. Every single choice we make, is always going to have a bad and good side to it. The bad side might come first, with the good side coming later, or vice versa. Unfortunately, we can't see the future, we'll never know what exactly we're getting ourselves into until it happens.

So, you have to take a risk. And, I think that's exactly what Ritsu did. She took a risk, and killed the one who she thought was the mastermind. Of course, we know how the story ends...He wasn't and she got executed for it.

But she didn't know that then. She believed that she was doing the right thing. Sure, she was killing somebody, but it was someone who deserved it.

I'm sure Ritsu felt super guilty about what she did. But, I also think she felt a sense of dignity. She didn't doubt herself. She did what she thought was right.

And I think that's comforting to hear, right? In her last moments, she didn't go down thinking 'what if I made a different choice' or 'I should have done something else'. She didn't shed any tears or whine and beg for forgiveness. She knew that the decision she made turned out to not be quite as she dreamt it, but she accepted that.

So, Koko, I'm asking you to make the decision: to instead of cry for Ritsu, smile for her. Live on, and try to finish what she started: trying to unmask the mastermind. Learn from her mistakes, while also utilizing the knowledge and tools she's taught and given you. Remember, she found that note in Silver's pocket!

Anyways, I didn't mean to bore you to death with my lecture, I just wanted to let you know what I thought. I'm sure Ritsu wouldn't want you to cry and be sad. I'm positive that she wants you to be that girl that she first met in the computer lab."

Koko had been glancing at the ground for the entirety of my speech. Finally, she looked up at me, tears in her eyes.

Uh oh. Did I say the wrong thing?

"I'm sorry, Koko, I didn't mean to mak-" My apology was cut off by Koko embracing me into a hug.

"Thank you, Seizo," She sniffed. "For not sugarcoating anything or just trying to make me feel better. You've taught me a valuable lesson, and..."

She let go of me, wiped the tears from her eyes, and smiled. "You're right! Ritsu would never want to see me like this. I'm going to live on for her! I'll smile everyday, and make the lamest puns ever! You _flan _count on that!"

I chuckled. "Oh boy, maybe I made a mistake…"

"Don't be ridiculous, Seizo," Koko giggled. "You really _kelped _me out!"

* * *

After talking some more with Koko, _and _playing a round of air hockey with her (I, uh, _let _Koko win…), I decided to head to the gym to see what exactly was inside the equipment room (not to be confused with the equipment room in the announcement room…).

Once inside, I spotted a curious Evelyn. She was standing near the front of the gym, intently observing the room in its entirety.

"What's up, Evelyn?" I greeted, going to stand next to the Ultimate Translator.

She jumped in slight surprise, but once she realized I wasn't there to murder her, she smiled. "_Hallo_, Seizo! What brings you to the gym?"

"I was just going to check out the equipment room," I explained. "To see what's in there. What about you?"

"Well, I'm thinking of holding a little sports event! Judging by the big size of this gym, there's a variety of games we can play." Evelyn started, rubbing her chin in thought. "But the question is, what game should it be?"

"Well," I started, gesturing to the back of the gym. "Maybe looking in the equipment room will help. It'll give you an idea of what games we _can _play, at least.

Evelyn nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

Her and I started our trek to the back of the gym. On the way, I couldn't help but stare at the stop clock above the bleachers. What's the point of it…

At last, we arrived at the door. Evelyn opened it, and lights inside immediately switched on.

It was a medium size room, with metal shelves lining the walls. There was a variety of sports equipment, including basketballs, volleyballs, baseball bats, dodge balls, tennis rackets, etc. There were also a few pieces of workout equipment, like dumbbells and medicine balls.

"Oh wow," Evelyn remarked. "I didn't expect there to be _this _much!"

I chuckled. "Having a little trouble now that you see all of your options?"

Evelyn also laughed. "Yeah. When you're brains full of the knowledge of sports from all across the globe, it gets a little hard to choose _just _one."

"You know about world-wide sports?" I inquired with a surprised expression. "I didn't expect that from the Ultimate Translator."

"Well, it's not like I went out of way to learn about them," She explained. "It's simply a part of my routine of learning a new language!

When I start the process of learning a language, I always try to learn as much of the history behind it first. And a lot of that history involves the culture of where the language originated, hence my knowledge about a variety of strange sports."

"Ah, I see." I nodded. "That's admirable. Most people would probably just jump straight into trying to learn the language itself."

Evelyn giggled. "If I'm being _totally _honest, I probably would too, if it wasn't for my childhood.

You see, despite my obvious American looks, I was actually born in Kyoto!"

My jaw dropped. "No way!"

"Yes way," Evelyn nodded. "My parents are consultants, and their jobs required them to confer with companies world wide. I've lived in Japan, Spain, France, and the United States. Whenever we moved to a new place, the national language obviously changed. So, to accommodate that, I had to pay extra attention to my language classes in school.

I found that I excelled a lot more than most other students! It was as if learning languages came as a second nature to me. Of course, it wasn't _super _easy. I may or may not have shed a tear or two trying to learn a new language…

Also, some languages are easier than others for me. For example, I found the short syllables of the Japanese language easier to understand than Spanish's complicated grammar rules.

Anyways, due to my experiences of living in multiple countries, I learned to respect language. I didn't just treat it like a skill you could use when you go on vacation. I treated it as a way to make connections with people, and make friends that you might've never made otherwise if you _didn't_ know the language."

"I get it now," I nodded. "You're definitely not just a human Google Translate. More like...a human Google!"

"Human...G-Google?" Evelyn repeated, the smile on her face dropping.

"Yeah!" I nodded. "Just like Google, you seem to know all sorts of stuff about different types of cultures and customs, _and _you know a variety of different languages. Sounds like Google to me."

"I…" Evelyn's eyes darkened, and she bowed her head. "I'm disappointed in you, Seizo."

"Huh? Did I say something? Uh...hello?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. Did she not like being compared to Google? I think it's a pretty high compliment to be likened to the smartest search engine in the world…

"You leave me no choice," Evelyn sighed.

"Uh..what are you saying?" I nervously asked, my voice shaky as Evelyn gave me a serious look.

"I will now give you 48 reasons why you shouldn't call me Google Translate _or _Google!" She announced. "Listen up!"

Uh oh...

* * *

I walked out of the gym, the most scared and anxious I've been in awhile.

My hands were clammy, and the sweat on my forehead had grown cold. I also had a stomach ache _and _a headache. Plus, my throat hurt for some reason…

"Never again…" I muttered. "I'm never again calling Evelyn 'Google Translate'..."

She had lectured me for probably two hours straight, explaining every one of her 48 reasons to not call her Google Translate in great detail…

We didn't even get to take a closer look at the equipment room to decide what sport to play with everyone...

"**Ahem**," Suddenly, Monokuma's shrill voice rang out from the speakers, snapping me out of my dazed state. "It is now time to gather in the announcement room to play the **2nd round **of the Traitor/Truce game! Attendance is required, so make sure to show up!"

I groaned. 2nd round? I already had enough of that anxiety inducing game after round 1…

Regardless of my dislike for it, however, attendance_ was_ required, so I made my way to the announcement room.

* * *

Almost everyone was already there by the time I arrived.

They were all standing in front of the line of booths, talking amongst themselves.

I spotted Akumu and Satoko and walked over to them.

"Hey guys," I greeted. "Ready for round 2?"

"Not really," Satoko admitted with a sad frown. "But, we don't really have a choice, do we?"

"No," Akumu sighed, shaking his head. "It sucks, but we gotta listen to Monokuma. Otherwise, we'll be punished."

Then, he smiled. "Don't worry, guys. As long as we just keep choosing 'spare', we'll all be fine!"

"Right," I nodded. "There's no reason to choose 'eliminate', after all."

Satoko slowly nodded. "I suppose you're right. Though, I wonder if Monokuma has a trick up his sleeve…"

I glanced at the stage. What's Monokuma trying to achieve with this game…? He certainly just wasn't making us play it, knowing that we'll most likely choose to spare each other.

As if right on cue, the bear in question appeared behind all of us.

"Nice, nice, nice!" He cheered. "Looks like the gang's all here!"

"Of course we are," Leonia sighed. "None of us want to get punished."

"Except Takumi, maybe…" Mari snickered.

"H-hey!" Takumi blushed.

"Now then, let us commence the 2nd round of the Traitor/Truce game!" Monokuma announced. "The rules and everything are still the same, but there is _one _little change…"

"What little change?" Jack frowned.

"Uh oh, this can't be good…" Fran muttered.

"Oh, relax!" Monokuma cackled. "It's not as bad as you think. _Although_, if you _want _it to be something super terribly horrible, I can make it happen!"

"Uh, just spit it out already, asshole." Kuro (who was _still_ in control of Shiro's body) demanded.

"Ok, ok!" Monokuma said. "Basicallyyyy, today, you'll have a **different partner** than yesterday! This happens with **every round **of Traitor/Truce! I shuffle the partners around, and you can't do anything about it, upupupupu!"

Different partners? "Who cares," I said in a bored tone. "None of us are going to pick eliminate, anyways."

Monokuma shrugged. "If you say so! Anyways, let the 2nd round of Traitor/Truce begin! Everyone, go find your booths, _**now**_!"

We all walked over to the various booths, looking into each one to find.

The mood was definitely lighter than yesterday. Now that we knew the rules and everything of Traitor/Truce, it wasn't _as _bad.

Of course, there was still the uncertain anxiety over who our partners were or what they were going to choose…

This time, my booth was right in the middle.

I walked in, and observed the screen…

_Norikazu Kanno vs. Seizo Morine _

_**Seizo, **_

_**SPARE**_

_**ELIMINATE**_

I gulped. Now this was a little concerning…

I mean, I haven't been a dick or anything to Norikazu, but I still didn't know if he liked me or not…

Still, even if he didn't like me, I don't _think _he'd kill me…

Or at least that's what I hoped.

I pressed 'spare'.

"You've chosen spare. Please do not leave until instructed to do so."

The following minutes felt more like an hour…

Would Norikazu spare me?

Or would he eliminate me?

What's more, I wonder how everybody else is doing…

If Mari got paired up with Clara, she'd eliminate her in a heartbeat!

Same with Takahashi and Norikazu, so it's probably a good thing they didn't get paired together…

But, Takumi would also probably be eliminated by Takahashi...or vice versa. Can't forget Takumi's impulsivity, after all...

"Please exit the room. Please go in front of the stage, where voting results will be displayed, for all participants of the Traitor/Truce game. Thank you."

I took a deep breath, and exited my booth.

Here goes nothing…

Once outside, I noticed quite a few of my classmates looking rather nonchalant.

"That was easy as pie." Koko smiled.

Sonoda nodded. "Yeah, I didn't really mind my partner so I spared 'em."

"So if you _did _mind them, you would've eliminated them?" Clara nervously laughed.

"I-I feel ok…" Nadia said. "I think my partner spared me."

"Hm, I'm not sure if my partner spared me or not," Jack said. "But, I guess I probably shouldn't worry about it, anyways. Can't do anything about it, after all."

"I'm positive my partner spared me." Hiiro nodded. "I'd be rather surprised if they didn't…"

"Tch, I'm sick of this game already, but I'm not leaving." Kuro shrugged. "That's why I've been especially active lately. No way am I letting Shiro's sensitive ass play this game..."

"This is not going to be the last round of this game," Leonia frowned. "I have a feeling Monokuma may make us play this until there's a winner, or at least until a number of people have been eliminated…"

"At first I thought this was going to be a fun game," Takumi sighed. "Like charades or something. But, I liken this more to a cruel mind game. Hopefully none of us succumb to whatever trick Monokuma is trying to pull."

"If we all just pick spare, we'll be fine!" Akumu reminded me. "Remember, there's **no reason to choose eliminate**, so please pick spare."

"Spare, eliminate, I don't really care." Takahashi huffed. "Just know that I'm going to end this stupid ass killing game before you do."

"I hope everyone chose spare," Fran sighed. "I don't want to see what happens when someone is eliminated. Knowing Monokuma, it can't be good."

"Don't worry, Seizo," Evelyn said. "I know everyone chose spare. It's the right thing to do, after all!"

"Ugh, this game's annoying." Mari frowned. "We all know that no one is dumb enough to choose spare and get hated on by everybody, so why do we keep having to play it?"

"I know there's _technically _a 50-50 chance whether we get spared or eliminated," Satoko started. "But I like to think of it more as 70-30. Most people here like each other, so as long as you get paired with a friend, you will have a greater chance of being spared."

"Hm? Did I spare you?" Norikazu repeated after I asked him. "You'll just have to wait and see..."

"I don't think anyone would choose eliminate this early in the game…" Isami admitted. "It's only round 2…"

After I spoke to all of my classmates, Monokuma finally announced that the game results for round 2 were finally ready.

"Step on up, everyone!" Monokuma exclaimed, beckoning all of us over to the stage.

We reluctantly did so, watching the screen.

"Round 2 of the Traitor/Truce game is now over!" He announced. "Let's see what choices everyone made this time around, hm?"

The screen powered on, and one by one, our voting results were displayed…

_Evelyn Bryant vs. Isami Kanagi_

_Evelyn: __**SPARE**_

_Isami: __**SPARE**_

_Mari Tamatsuki vs. Sonoda Eisen_

_Mari: __**SPARE**_

_Sonoda: __**SPARE**_

_Hiiro Sayoama vs. Koko Kagawa_

_Hiiro: __**SPARE**_

_Koko: __**SPARE**_

_Norikazu Kanno vs. Seizo Morine_

_Norikazu: __**SPARE**_

_Seizo: __**SPARE**_

_Jack Masaki vs. Shiro/Kuro_

_Jack: __**SPARE**_

_Shiro/Kuro: __**SPARE**_

_Leonia Taylor vs. Francesca Croft_

_Leonia: __**SPARE**_

_Francesca: __**SPARE**_

_Satoko Kiyomizu vs. Takahashi Jirou_

_Satoko: __**SPARE**_

_Takahashi: __**SPARE**_

_Takumi Kyoshi vs. Akumu Tsubasa_

_Takumi: __**SPARE**_

_Akumu: __**SPARE**_

_Nadia Levitsky vs. Clara Odette_

_Nadia: __**SPARE**_

_Clara: __**SPARE**_

"Ah thank God," I sighed in relief. My heart had been pounding the entire time, but for no reason at all. Everyone chose spare!

"I'm pumped," Akumu beamed. "We're all safe!"

"This is great!" Fran cheered. "No one's eliminated; we're all still in the game."

"Upupupu," Monokuma interrupted our cheers with his signature cackle, and an accompanying dark expression on his face. "**You say that like it's a good thing**."

"What're you saying?" Evelyn frowned. "Why wouldn't it be a good thing?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough!" Monokuma said in response. "And trust me, when you do, don't be so confident in your classmates choosing to spare anymore…"

The bear then disappeared, leaving an ominous atmosphere behind with him…

"He's just trying to scare us," Akumu claimed, though he sounded a bit unsure of himself. "That's all, I'm sure of it."

No one said anything in response, instead just staring at the ground or the ceiling…

Once again, Monokuma's managed to fuel a sense of distrust in us, making us wonder if this game was really going to go as well as we hoped it would...

* * *

_**The next day. **_

_**Day 12 aboard the HFH Enterprise...**_

I awoke to the morning announcement.

After the game's conclusion yesterday, we all just did our own thing.

I mostly took the time to take care of a few chores, like doing my laundry (using a Monopod made my skin crawl…), taking a shower, and making a few sandwiches for myself to have throughout the week.

Today was a brand new day, and I was determined to make it a better one than yesterday!

Monokuma kept trying to push us apart, but it wasn't going to work. I don't think we'll all be best friends anytime soon, but I think we can all become allies if we just talk to each other instead of ignoring each other out of fear.

It was a lot to ask of 18 people who've known each other for a week and a half, but I can't just sit here and let Monokuma win: I was going to at least try and do something.

I got up out of bed, and walked over to my dresser.

Like usual, I reached for the handle of the drawer containing my clothes, but stopped when I noticed something on top of the dresser, that I know I didn't leave there…

It was an envelope, with a Monokuma seal on the back.

I groaned.

Fuck me…

What's this asshole up to now?

I held the envelope in my hand, staring at it…

Should I open it?

Or should I just leave it alone?

The angel on my shoulder was telling me to just leave it be. If I didn't know what was in the envelope, its contents couldn't bother me!

Meanwhile, the devil on my other shoulder was screaming at me to open it..."Get it over it, because you _know _you want to open it and see what's inside…"

I turned the envelope in my hand over and over again, wrestling in my mind over what I should do…

…

Shit…

…

Ugh…

…

_Fine_, devil. You win…

I couldn't resist, so I ripped open the envelope.

Inside, there was a folded card.

I opened it, and my eyes instantly widened, and my shaky hands almost dropped the card in shock.

On the front of the card was a picture of two boys.

The first boy had a light complexion, spiky dark brown hair, and gray eyes with a faint reddish tint to them. His most defining feature was a blob-shaped birthmark on his collar bone.

In the picture, the second boy who was standing next to him...the boy he was smiling with...**was me**.

This boy isn't a stranger to me...he's my younger 14 year old cousin, **Ichiro Morine**, the son of my dad's brother, my uncle.

I held the picture tight in my hands. Ichiro is the brother I never had…

Growing up, I was often left alone in a nearly empty house, with my parents working. The people who kept me company were the family butler, maid, and the cooks.

But, talking with people older than you got boring quickly, and I always wished I had someone else.

Then, there was Ichiro. Whenever he'd come over, we'd have an absolute blast. I completely let loose around him, and there was never a dull moment when the two of us were together.

I don't have an older sibling to protect me, or a younger sibling to admire and annoy me. But, I have Ichiro. He's my number one fan, always the first one to congratulate me after I got a role I auditioned for, or the one to cheer me up when I didn't.

Of course, just like any younger cousin, he _can _be an annoying brat at times, but I still love him nonetheless.

He's probably the person I miss the most...my parents have each other, but Ichiro would always rely on me for everything.

But now I'm stuck in this place…

Ugh, I have to get out of here!

…

…

…

Wait…

This is exactly what Monokuma's trying to do, isn't it?!

I angrily turned the card over, and sure enough, there was a note, written in Monokuma's childish yet legible handwriting:

_Ichiro Morine! The dear, dear cousin of up and coming actor, Seizo Morine._

_Don't you just miss so beary__much, Seizo?_

_I'd hate for anything bad to happen to him while you're up here in space…_

_Well, actually, I'd love it! _

_Seizo Morine,__** win Traitor/Truce, **__**or**__** murder one of your classmates and I'll leave Ichiro alone**__! _

_Buttttt, if you or someone else doesn't do so within a week, then Ichiro's Ichitoast!_

_That's right, kiddo! The prize for winning Traitor/Truce is that I'll keep you and your classmate's family members safe from my villainous wrath!._

_You technically __**don't **__**have**__** to be the one to win Traitor/Truce **__in order to make sure that Ichiro's ok, but I __**suggest you do so**__, because the punishment for losing isn't exactly light…_

_Of course, like I said before, you could also murder someone and get it over with quickly! But, for a less bloody experience, I'd recommend going the Traitor/Truce route. _

I examined the letter with rage. He's seriously threatening our families now?

I threw the card and the envelope back on my dresser, taking a second to collect myself…

I was pissed, but I needed to stay strong.

Ichiro's gotta be fine! He's got my family name, so a lot of people know who he is. If something happened to him, especially after something happened to me, everyone would know it.

Plus, my parents bought my aunt and uncle a house in a nice, private, neighborhood when I first started acting.

I'm sure they'll all be safe in there, with the security company in the neighborhood patrolling the streets 24/7, and all..._And _then there's the fact that I was kidnapped, so I'm sure they're even more protective of my family now..

It sucked not knowing how he was doing, but I couldn't let that drive me crazy. I don't think Ichiro would be super happy to find out I killed someone just to protect him.

But, there was also the option of being the winner of the Traitor/Truce game…

Ugh, crap, if I'm thinking like this, then I'm sure the others must be too…

I tried to ignore the new motive Monokuma had given us, and got ready for the day.

* * *

When I left my room, there was no one in the hallway. It was eerily quiet...

"That's a first…" I muttered.

I made my way out of the hallway, to the dining room.

* * *

Standing outside of the dining room door, I heard voices…

**Mad **voices, talking over each other.

This can't be good…

* * *

"I'm not sparing you losers when my_ agent's_ live is at stake," Mari scoffed. "If she dies, then I'll have to find a new one and that sounds like _way _too much work. So, don't be surprised when I vote eliminate in the next round of Traitor/Truce!"

"You're being totally selfish," Fran glared. "Monokuma's threatening someone important to me too, y'know, so maybe have a little compassion for the rest of us."

"Exactly," Evelyn agreed. "And despite the circumstances, we're still going to vote spare. It's not right to eliminate others just to get yourself ahead!"

"I mean _technically_, there _has _to be a winner of the Traitor/Truce game, right?" Takumi said. "So why don't we just randomly pick someone? That way, it's fair, _and _our family members stay safe!"

"There doesn't** have** to be one," Norikazu corrected. "We only have to play this game for one more week. If there's no winner, then we don't have to play anymore, but Monokuma does something to our loved ones. And of course, there was also the mention of murdering someone as an option."

"But let's hope no one goes that route," Koko nervously remarked. "I don't want to go though another trial again…"

"Agreed." Hiiro nodded. "Plus, you have to remember the consequence of losing Traitor/Truce. It's a punishment, one given via Monokuma. If it's like what happened to Takumi, then I'm sure no one wants to experience it."

Jack nodded. "And even if we pick someone to be the winner, there's no guarantee that everyone would honor it. I can name about five people who'd refuse to honor the decision…"

"Tch, no way are we going to pick straws to determine the winner or some shit," Takahashi protested, rolling his eyes. "If we're going to play this game, the fairest option is to just play it how it's meant to be played. Make your own choice, not the one someone forces you to make."

"I see your point…" Isami admitted. "That way we'd all have a fair shot at being the winner…"

"No way am I going to listen to what someone tells me do, so I like that option way better." Kuro smirked.

"C'mon guys," Akumu sadly frowned. "Are we really going to let Monokuma scare us into choosing to eliminate each other? If we ignore him, then he'll get desperate, and maybe do something nice for us!"

"_Or_, the more frightening option," Leonia sighed. "He could be so desperate that he does something _bad _to us…"

"True," Sonoda nodded. "And that is not a risk I'm willing to take."

"I wish we knew exactly what the punishment for Traitor/Truce was…" Clara said. "If we knew how bad it was, it might be easier to choose spare...but because it's so scary, it seems easier to just choose eliminate."

"As b-bad as it sounds," Nadia gulped. "Choosing eliminate is always going to be the best option every time...U-um, think about it. If you choose eliminate and your partner chooses spare, then they're out of the game, while you're still in. B-but, if you choose eliminate and your partner _also _chooses eliminate, then you're both still in."

"Yes, but if we go that route, then it's just like people picking spare over and over again," Takahashi surmised. "So, like I said: pick what you want. But, understand that you risk elimination if you choose spare…"

Uneasy glances were being exchanged between everybody, and the tension in the dining room was at an all time high.

The paranoid and selfish people want to just pick eliminate, aiming to be the winner of Traitor/Truce

While positive and optimistic people want everyone to pick spare, and ignore Monokuma's threats.

It was definitely a dilemma, one that was plaguing my own mind right now…

I wanted to pick spare every time, but I also didn't want to be eliminated...I think I'd determine my decision based on the partner I get.

The room had grown fairly quiet. Everyone had voiced their opinions, and now we were left to just think about all of them. I could tell some people were being stubborn, and were going to vote how they originally intended to no matter what anyone said.

_But_, there were some people who looked as if they were considering a change of heart. Satoko, for instance, looked rather flustered as she wrote on a piece of paper, presumably about the pros and cons of each option we were given in Traitor/Truce.

After what seemed like forever, the uncomfortable silence was finally broken by a certain someone.

"**Alright everyone, that's enough**!" Evelyn frowned, standing up from her chair and facing all of us. "The next round of Traitor/Truce probably isn't for a while. So, I suggest instead of contemplating our thoughts, we do something to take our minds off of everything!"

"Like what?" Fran curiously asked.

"How about a game of kickball?" Evelyn suggested with a smile. "It's a sport that's easy to play, and easy to understa-."

"No thanks," Mari interrupted with a yawn. "I'm going to spend the morning in my room, dying my hair with this totally cool hair dye I bought from Sonoda."

"It only cost her 20 Monocoins!" Sonoda grinned.

20?! I have 0…

"I don't really want to play kickball…" Isami admitted. "...Or any sport that requires excessive physical activity. Basically anything that's not sleeping..."

"It's not _that _excessive…" Evelyn deadpanned. "And besides, it'll be fun, I promise!"

"I'm too tired," Koko whined. "I've been taking advantage of not having to cook breakfast, and the extra sleep is really making me miss my bed, so I think I'll head over there."

"I'm not a fan of sports games." Leonia admitted. "Besides, I doubt I would be of much help to my team due to my lack of physical ability…"

"I don't want to get sweaty…" Is all Jack said, gesturing to his expensive outfit.

"Aw, c'mon guys…" Evelyn sighed. "Fine...I guess we won't be playing kickball today."

"**Nonsense**." Takahashi suddenly spoke up, a smirk on his face. "We are _all _going to play a game of kickball. I've been meaning to let out some pent up energy, and a competitive sports game seems like just the right thing."

Norikazu scoffed. "You can't force us _all _to play kickball. We have the right to refuse if we want."

"Oh no you don't," Takahashi protested, his smirk growing. "After all, the leader, AKA _me_, gets to order people to do as he pleases, remember?"

"As long as their request is nothing too extreme." Norikazu reminded him. "Any disputes will be settled by Pilot Monokuma, as per the rules."

"C'mon, man," Takahashi groaned. "Are you really going to drag the bear out just to dispute something like this? Just play the fucking game of kickball. You don't even have to do anything, just stand there and act like you're trying."

Norikazu frowned, closing his eyes and turning away from Takahashi. "..._Fine_. But as long as I am _not _on the same team as you."

Takahashi shrugged. "Fine with me, I don't care."

"So we're seriously _all _playing kickball?" Mari whined.

"I hope I win…" Nadia blushed.

"This is such a drag…" Kuro mumbled.

"I've never been that great at sports," Akumu admitted with a chuckle. "But, I'll try my best!"

"Please don't let the blind kid be on my team," Sonoda muttered.

And so, it was decided. To distract ourselves from the stressful Traitor/Truce game, we were all going to play a game of kickball together.

It was definitely going to be a stark contrast from our attitudes this morning, but it was one that I welcomed. I didn't enjoy arguing with everyone, so it'd be nice to get along as a team for once.

After everyone grabbed a little something to eat, we all headed up to the second floor's gym.

* * *

"Alright, how're we doing this?" Takahashi asked Evelyn, who he put in charge of everything.

She was currently making makeshift bases on the gym's floor from chalk she found in the equipment room (there was all sorts of weird shit in the equipment room once you _really _took a good look. For some reason, there's a random bag of rose petals…). "Um, I dunno. Why don't we do something simple...like boys versus girls?"

Takahashi thought for a minute, before shrugging. "Eh, sure. Fine with me."

After the two got everything set up, Evelyn explained how we were going to split off into teams, and the basic rules that'd we incorporate in our game of kickball:

-Each team would decide their own lineup for their players.

-Three outs = an offense/defense change.

-We'd play until we reached 10 points.

-You earn points by safely reaching home.

-Having the ball land on the bleachers is a home run.

-Having the ball hit the ceiling, or behind the home plate, results in a foul.

-3 fouls results in an out.

-Getting hit with the ball while not on a base also counts as an out.

-If the defense team catches the ball while it's in mid-air, that also counts as an out.

-And Takahashi's own suggestion: the team that wins the game got to have their laundry done by the losing team for a week.

It was so on! Even though not_ all _of us were super excited, we were still fired up, especially because of the consequence of losing.

We all split off into our even teams of boys and girls. The only thing was, since Norikazu _really _didn't want to be on a team with Takahashi, he switched places with Fran.

"Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't hold my own with the boys," Fran claimed. "I may be small, but my legs still pack a strong kick!"

"I'll believe it when I see it." Takahashi huffed. "Anyways, I'll decide the turn order."

"Who made you boss?" Kuro frowned.

"Me." Takahashi answered bluntly, glaring at Kuro. "Anyways, here's the turn order I think works best for us:

Probably our strongest kicker: me. I'll start the game off strong, so you guys don't have to do as much.

Then we'll have Akumu go. Akumu, even if you manage to kick the ball just a little bit, I think those little legs of yours will get you to 2nd base, and allow you to dodge the other team's defense.

Next is Sonoda...I don't know how useful you'll be, Sonoda, but hopefully you can at least manage to not get a foul and get to 1st base.

Kuro will go fourth. I know you're an asshole who hates everybody, but at least_ try_ to win…

I'll have Seizo go next. 5th is almost half of us, so if we have one or two outs, you should be able to pick the game up and have us on the winning side again. I'm counting on you, so if you screw up, I'll kick your ass…

Hiiro next. Hope you drank some extra coffee, buddy, because you're going 6th, which can make or break our game.

Then we'll have Takumi...I'm not very optimistic about you, but try your best, I guess…

Jack will go 8th. I know you have that whole 'I don't want to sweaty' shit going on, but I know you're strong. I'm really counting on you to score us a point, not an out, so give us some effort, ok?

Now...Fran, you may wonder why I'm putting you as our anchor. It's not because I have a whole bunch of faith in you _or _no faith at all. It's because I think you have what it takes to score us that last point we need _if_ it comes to it. Otherwise, maybe it doesn't come to that, and we don't need you. Only time will tell…"

Takahashi finished his announcement; leaving some of us pleased, while others were stressed or annoyed.

"Don't know what to expect?" Sonoda repeated with a nervous chuckle. "C'mon, man, I thought you knew me better than that…"

"My little legs?" Akumu laughed. "We'll see!"

"I'll try my best." Jack nodded, randomly shuffling a deck of cards. "But I won't make a deal I can't guarantee will come to fruition…"

"I'm going last?" Fran shrugged. "Fine with me."

"6th?" Hiiro gulped, looking just a little flustered. "I'll um, try my best."

"I can't make any promises," I remarked. "But I'll try to get us a point."

"**You better**, D-Lister." Takahashi harshly quipped. "Anyways, looks like Evelyn over there is ready to do the coin toss."

We all walked over to the home base, with Evelyn and Takahashi standing in front of us.

Takahashi announced his team's turn order, and then Evelyn announced her's.

"I have Satoko going first, followed by Clara, me, Leonia, Mari, Norikazu, Nadia, Koko, and Isami." She revealed. Hm, I wonder why Satoko's going first…

"Alright, time for the coin toss!" Evelyn continued. She pulled a Monocoin out of her pocket.

A Monocoin is gold and decorated with Monokuma's face on both sides. However, once side has his red eye colored in while the other doesn't.

"Your call, Takahashi." Evelyn declared.

"..._Not_ filled in." He answered.

Evelyn nodded. "Well, then, I'll be filled in." She then flipped the Monocoin, a bit clumsily, but she luckily managed to catch it before it hit the floor.

…

…

…

"Not filled in." She sighed, showing the coin to Takahashi.

"Just what I thought." Takahashi smirked.

The girls took their positions on the field, with some of them standing right by the bases while others spread out in different locations. Isami stayed near the back, looking completely uninterested.

"Alright boys," Takahashi said, turning towards us. "Line up."

We quickly did so, and as soon as everyone on both teams was settled, the game was started!

Clara was the girls team's pitcher, probably because she was the only one with an athletic talent.

Takahashi stood, ready to kick the ball as soon as she rolled it.

I could tell she was a little flustered, probably because she tried to kill Takahashi a few days ago. She rolled the ball at a medium speed, and Takahashi successfully kicked it!

He ran towards first base, with Evelyn chasing after the ball.

She did so, and Takahashi chose to stay on first base.

"Hell yeah!" He cheered.

"Ugh, whatever." Evelyn frowned, returning the ball to Clara.

Next up was Akumu.

"I'll give it my best shot." He declared with a smile.

Clara frowned, pitching the ball at an increased rate of speed.

Amazingly, Akumu still managed to successfully kick it!

Takahashi ran to second base, and Akumu ran to first.

By now, it was Nadia who had the ball. Unfortunately for her, Takahashi and Akumu both remained on their respective bases.

"Aw…" She sighed, returning the ball to Clara.

Sonoda was up next. "This should be easy." He smirked. "Go easy on me, ok, my accountant?" He said to Clara.

"_Sure_." She said, with an unconvincing smirk.

She pitched the ball at the same speed as before. The frantic Sonoda hit it, but a little too hard…

It flew into the air, and Koko dived for it.

She caught it!

"Yay!" She smiled.

"No…" Sonoda sniffed, shamefully returning to the line.

"First out," I called, patting Sonoda on the back as he walked past me. "You'll get 'em next time, buddy."

I could see Takahashi glaring at him from his spot on the second base. "Tch, I should've put you last! We were doing good until you went…"

Kuro stepped up, and Clara immediately pitched the ball. Kuro tapped it with his foot, which technically counted as a kick.

Takahashi sprinted to home base, and made it! Akumu managed to make it to second.

Kuro wasn't even running to first, instead walking at an increased rate of speed.

Evelyn caught the ball this time.

"Here!" She called to Leonia, throwing it towards her.

"Oh my," Leonia remarked. A little flustered and shaky, but she managed to catch the ball.

Since she was guarding first base, that meant Kuro was out.

"Are you kidding me?!" Takahashi angrily said as Kuro nonchalantly walked to the back of the line. "We have one point but already have two outs?"

Kuro shrugged. "Told you I didn't care…"

I stepped up to the home plate, and winked at Clara.

She rolled her eyes but smiled. She pitched the ball towards me with a little less effort than before, but still more than she had used to pitch it to Takahashi.

I kept my eye on it, and when it came closer to me, I successfully managed to kick it!

I ran to first base, and turned my head to see Akumu made it to third.

"Keep going!" Takahashi yelled.

I looked for the ball, and saw that the girls were still struggling to catch it.

"Here goes nothing…" I muttered. I ran towards second, and Akumu made it home, scoring us another point.

I could see that Evelyn now had the ball in her hands, and was chasing after me.

She was right on my tail, so as a last resort, I threw myself onto the second base.

"Safe…" Satoko sighed.

"Yes!" I beamed. "Take that, Evelyn!"

Evelyn did not look very pleased, and silently stomped back over to her spot on the field.

Hiiro was up next for our team. He looked a little nervous but kept his composure.

"Try your best Hiiro!" Koko smiled.

"Hey, no cheering for the other team!" Mari glared.

Clara pitched the ball, and Hiiro intently observed it. When it came close, he hit it with all of his might!

Seriously, _all _of his might...The ball flew high up into the air, hitting the ceiling…

"Out!" Evelyn cheered.

"Aw…" I sighed. "I didn't get to make it to third base…"

"Damn it!" Takahashi groaned, facepalming "Only two fucking points…"

"We'll get them next time." Akumu optimistically declared.

We switched sides, with the girls happily walking over to the home plate, while the boys begrudgingly walked onto the field.

Takahashi made Jack our pitcher, and gave us all positions on the field.

I was to guard second base because, according to Takahashi: "I knew it so well."

Satoko stepped up to the plate, with Jack smirking.

"I'm not going to go easy on you." He said teasingly.

"I wouldn't expect you to." Satoko huffed.

Jack pitched the ball at a fast rate of speed. Satoko kept her eye on it the entire time…

Huh, she looked _really _focused.

Just as it was about to pass the home plate, she stepped backwards a little bit, and then kicked!

It wasn't a strong or a weak kick, but she kicked it in such a perfect way, that it flew over the ground, causing us to scramble in order to catch it.

"Go Satoko!" Evelyn cheered.

"Y-yeah!" She smiled. She was running towards first base, but it was so slow that you could call it jogging. At last, she made it, but by the time she did, Sonoda had already thrown me the ball, so Satoko was forced to stay on first base.

"Great job, Satoko!" Evelyn smiled as she stepped up to home plate. "That's the power of the Ultimate Prodigy, for ya!"

Satoko blushed. "It wasn't anything difficult," She protested. "I just kicked it with the perfect amount of power so that'd it travel at just the right amount of speed, not too fast or too slow, so the boys wouldn't have an easy time trying to catch it, but also so I wouldn't be fouled for hitting the ceiling."

"Well nonetheless, a great job." Evelyn said.

"Can you guys shut up already and play?" Takahashi frowned, crossing his arms as he stood by third base.

Jack pitched the ball, and Evelyn kicked it. Satoko did her weird jog thing to second base, while Evelyn ran to first.

Takumi was determined to catch the ball, and he finally did.

"Yay!" He beamed.

Clara stepped up. Jack pitched it towards her as hard as he could, but the dancer easily kicked it high into the air.

It flew _close _to the ceiling, but didn't hit it. It continued to soar, with all of us watching in awe.

At last, it started to descend, and eventually landed on the bleachers!

"Home run!" Clara exclaimed in shock.

"Go, go, go!" Fran encouraged.

Almost all of the girls cheered for Clara as she ran past each base.

Satoko made it to home, tiredly panting, but smiling nonetheless. Evelyn also did, high-fiving every girl on the team (even Mari!), and of course, Clara made it.

"That was amazing, Clara." Nadia complimented. "I hope I can do that well…"

"You killed it out there!" Koko beamed.

"Quite a stellar performance," Leonia nodded. "I'm impressed."

Norikazu, Isami, and Mari said nothing, but I could tell that the former two were pleased. Mari, however, looked annoyed as everyone praised Clara, which was pretty suspicious given her previous treatment of her yesterday…

Takahashi watched all of this go down with a stunned expression. "...We...have two points. They have three..._and _they have zero outs…"

"It's ok!" Akumu insisted. "We can still beat them!"

Unfortunately, that wasn't exactly true…

After Clara's home run, the girls were more fired up than ever, and kept scoring point after point! Even freaking Isami decided to put in some effort, and somehow managed to score the team a home run!

With every point they scored, their enthusiasm and motivation grew.

However, our team just became more and more depressed.

"This blows…" Sonoda whined. "How can Leonia make a point when I couldn't?"

"Did Nadia seriously just make it past me even though I had the ball in my hands?!" Hiiro asked, stunned.

"Ouch," Takumi mumbled after tripping over the ball in his attempt to try and catch it.

"Great job, Isami!" Fran cheered after Isami jogged past her.

"You bitch!" Kuro growled after Mari sneakily tripped him on his way to go catch the ball.

"Hey, c'mon, that's not fair…" Akumu sniffed, as Norikazu hit the ball away from him just as he was about to catch it.

"Well, that hurt…" Jack remarked after Clara kicked the ball in his face.

"_No_!" I gasped. Takumi had thrown the ball to me as Evelyn made her way to second base, but I didn't catch it in time.

Meanwhile, Takahashi was watching all of this happening with a face of horror. "I...I can't believe this…"

In the end, the girls won after scoring ten points…

And a total of _zero _outs.

"Well boys, looks like you'll be doing our laundry for us." Evelyn giggled.

"Hm, I've been meaning to get my sheets washed, so I guess I'll have you guys do it." Mari smirked.

"I'm going to make sure to wear a different one of my outfits everyday so they'll have plenty of laundry to do." Koko cruelly laughed.

Us boys (plus Fran) sat on the bleaches, utterly defeated, as the girls (plus Norkazu) sauntered out of the room.

"We did out best, I guess." Fran nervously laughed. "Though I guess it wasn't enough." She quickly stood up from the bleachers and ran after the girls.

"Don't be _too _hard on yourself, Takahashi." Sonoda sighed, patting him on the back. "You _did _make yourself the leader, after all."

He also left the gym.

One by one, everyone left the gym, until it was just Takumi, Takahashi, and I.

"..." Takahashi said nothing to us, and simply walked out, the shell of a man he used to be...

"Well…" Takumi started, breaking the silence. "That was pretty bad, huh?"

"Yeah…" I sighed. "I didn't think we'd lose at all...let alone lose _that _badly."

"10-2." Takumi said. "The girls are going to make fun of us for awhile because of that lousy score, huh?"

"Probably," I nodded. "Especially since we won the coin toss and went first…"

"Hehe, I've always hated going first," Takumi admitted with a laugh. "It never seems to turn out well for me!"

"What do you mean?" I asked. "Don't they always say 'the early bird gets the worm', or something like that…?"

"Yeah, but not when it comes to me," Takumi sighed. "More like the early bird gets glass in his eye." The Escapist pointed towards the faint scar that went over his right eye, and sadly smiled.

"Luckily for me, it doesn't impede my vision in any way," He clarified with a relieved laugh. "_But_, my life was pretty scary for a while. Some days my vision would be A-ok, while other days, it'd be super blurry and dark…"

"If you don't mind me asking, how'd it happen?" I asked.

Takumi laughed once again. "Ah, it was another act of foolishness on my part.

You see, ever since I was little, I loved to go exploring. I had these three friends: Haruhi, Asuka, and Aichi.

The four of us went everywhere together! Exploring caves, forests, and even abandoned buildings!

On one such occasion, we found this old apartment building in the town next to ours! We knew it was probably illegal, but we entered anyways, because that's just what we did." He sheepishly smiled.

"So you've always been impulsive?" I chuckled. "At least people can't say you're interesting, huh?"

"Nope!" He grinned. "Anyways, once inside, we climbed the stairs to the second floor, and entered a room. We looked around, taking pictures like we usually did, and just having a good time!

Things quickly took a turn for the worst, though…We failed to see that there was a homeless guy living on the first floor. He lit a cigarette, and accidentally dropped it onto the _highly _flammable carpet!

By the time we realized, it would've been unsafe to leave the room…

Haruhi and Asuka were completely freaking out, but me and Aichi sprang to action! We found a window hidden behind a bookshelf. It was a little too tall for us to reach, however, so we made a makeshift ladder out of things we found in the room.

I volunteered to be the first one to climb, and without thinking, I shattered the window…"

"Which scratched your eye," I realized.

"Yeah…" Takumi sighed. "I didn't move my face away in time, and a piece of glass split open my right eye. We all quickly rushed out of the building, and my friends took me to the hospital.

Once there, the doctors told me that they didn't know what damage the glass would leave behind…

Their greatest fear was that it'd leave me blind.

Of course, that turned out not to be the case, thankfully. Now, I just have this scar, which makes for an interesting topic of conversation!"

"Well, you're definitely brave, I'll tell you that," I chuckled. "I'd just maybe think a little more about my actions before you do something like that, ok?"

"Yeah, you're probably right." Takumi nodded. "You'd think I'd learn, huh? Not to be impulsive? I just can't help it, though...I want to be the hero that saves the day, or the guy everyone looked up to because he proved somebody wrong. Plus, I just get super frustrated when I'm told what to do..."

"Yeah, I remember." I nodded. "From our talk in the rec center. I understand, but just please be careful, buddy. I wouldn't want to see you get yourself hurt again."

"Don't worry!" Takumi smiled. "I'm going to be more careful, I promise. It's my goal to better myself while I'm here!"

"Well, I'm sure if you put your mind to it you-" An announcement interrupted the inspiring speech I was about to give Takumi.

"**Ahem**," Suddenly, Monokuma's shrill voice rang out from the speakers. "It is now time to gather in the announcement room to play the **2nd round **of the Traitor/Truce game! Attendance is required, so make sure to show up!"

"Aw, man…" Takumi sighed. "It's that time again…"

"Yup." I frowned. "But don't worry. We'll be ok."

"I hope so…" Takumi gulped."

* * *

Takumi and I arrived in the gym. The mood was tense, and everyone was silent.

Amazingly, Monokuma was already there for once.

"Oh, good!" Monokuma said. "You're finally all here!"

"Let's get this thing over with." Kuro said.

"I love the enthusiasm," Monokuma giggled. "I hope we'll have some eliminations this time around!"

I glanced at the ground. Eliminations...I really hope none of us are eliminated. Even though I don't get along with everybody here, no one deserves the cruel fate Monokuma is most likely going to bestow upon them if they're eliminated.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Monokuma continued. "Let the 3rd round of Traitor/Truce begin! Everyone, go find your booths, _**now**_!"

We all did as we were told.

My booth was the very last one. I entered and nervously glanced up at the screen.

My heart started to beat faster...

…

…

…

_Seizo Morine vs. Shiro/Kuro_

_**Seizo, **_

_**SPARE**_

_**ELIMINATE**_

I'm...going against Kuro?

The one who's harassed more people than I can count?

I wiped the sweat forming on my brow. I had absolutely no idea how he was going to vote. He's been voting spare, but that could change now because of the motive…

My finger hovered over eliminate...

Nadia's words echoed in my head...

"_Choosing eliminate is always going to be the best option every time...U-um, think about it. If you choose eliminate and your partner chooses spare, then they're out of the game, while you're still in. B-but, if you choose eliminate and your partner also chooses eliminate, then you're both still in."_

If I choose eliminate, I'll be safe no matter what…

But was that really the right thing to do? Just worry about myself? My own words echoed in my head…

"_Who cares," I said in a bored tone. "None of us are going to pick eliminate, anyways."_

…

…

…

I shakily made my decision.

After the voice announced that the game was over, we all exited our booths. None of us spoke, or even looked at each other. We simply walked over to the stage where Monokuma stood next to the screen.

"Upupupu," He cackled. "I can practically smell the distrust between you all!"

I rolled my eyes, but sighed. He was right...none of us trusted each other right now.

Even the ones who were trying to stay positive were glancing at the ground, unable to look anyone in the eye.

"Well, I won't keep you waiting," The bear shrugged. "Without further ado,

Round 3 of the Traitor/Truce game is now over!" He announced. "Let's see what choices everyone made this time around, hm?"

…

…

...

_Takumi Kyoshi vs. Takahashi Jirou_

_Takumi: __**SPARE**_

_Takahashi: __**SPARE**_

_Isami Kanagi vs. Nadia Levitsky_

_Isami: __**SPARE**_

_Nadia: __**SPARE**_

_Clara Odette vs. Koko Kagawa_

_Clara: __**SPARE**_

_Koko: __**SPARE**_

_Norikazu Kanno vs. Leonia Taylor_

_Norikazu: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Leonia: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Mari Tamatsuki vs. Evelyn Bryant_

_Mari: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Evelyn: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Satoko Kiyomizu vs. Francesca Croft_

_Satoko: __**SPARE**_

_Francesca: __**SPARE**_

_Akumu Tsubasa vs. Jack Masaki_

_Akumu: __**SPARE**_

_Jack: __**SPARE**_

_Hiiro Sayoama vs. Sonoda Eisen_

_Hiiro: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Sonoda: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Seizo Morine vs. Shiro/Kuro_

_Seizo: __**SPARE **_

_Shiro/Kuro: __**ELIMINATE**_

**_ELIMINATED_**

_1\. Seizo Morine (Round 3)_

…

…

…

No one said a word.

My heart sunk as I read the results...what's more…

**I lost**…

Kuro had voted to eliminate me...while I voted to spare him.

I thought back to my decision…

_I shook my head. _

_I…_

_I had to do the right thing! Picking eliminate is the safest route, but it's also the cowardly one. I had to trust Kuro to choose spare, and even though he didn't have best track record, I was going to._

_Besides...if Kuro chose spare while I chose eliminate, not only would he be punished...but Shiro would too. And there was no way I was going to risk that. _

_I pressed spare. _

"_You've chosen spare. Please do not leave until instructed to do so."_

_It was the right thing to do…_

"S-Seizo…?" Akumu's eyes were wide. "You…"

"Seizo…" Koko sniffed, tears forming in her eyes. "No way…"

"This can't be true!" Satoko exclaimed. "Kuro, you meant to press spare, r-right?"

Kuro kept his head down. "...**No**. I meant to choose eliminate, just like a number of people did. Don't you dare go all 'holier than thou' and get mad at me when plenty of people chose eliminate this time around. My partner just happened to make the mistake of choosing spare, so has to suffer the consequences…"

Everyone who voted eliminate also had their partner choose eliminate…

Except me.

Heh, it was kinda funny. I was the one saying nothing bad was going to happen to us, and none of us would be eliminated from the game, but I'm the first one out.

"Wow, I didn't expect Seizo to be the first one to go!" Monokuma admitted.

I finally got the courage to speak up. "...But the facts are clear. Kuro voted eliminate, and I chose spare, so I lose...So, Monokuma, what's my punishment?"

Monokuma's red eye flashed and he looked at me with an evil smile. "I think you've known all along, Seizo, what the punishment was going to be like…"

…

….

…

"Time to say goodbye to your classmates! Don't worry, though, I'm _sure_ you'll see them again one day..."

…

…

…

It started off as a tingling sensation, near my ankle. Like a fire ant bite.

Then, it spread throughout my body, and I started to feel a little warm…

The pain came next. It shot throughout my body as if someone was stabbing me over and over again…

"_**SEIZO**_!" I couldn't even tell who it was, but someone came next to me. By this point, I had fallen to the floor in agony.

My vision was blurry, and all I could see was the faces of my classmates, standing over me.

One by one, I could feel myself losing sensation and control of my body...it was as if my soul was being ripped away, but I was still conscious enough to feel the pain…

The excruciating pain. I never knew the human body could hurt this much.

Thankfully, pretty soon after that, my vision started to fade more and more, and I became disoriented…

Then…

I completely shut down.

* * *

_A/N_: **So, what did you guys think? :) A lot happened in this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it! **

**As always, thank you guys for reading, and I'll see you in the next one!**


	19. Heaven With You (Part 4)

Heaven With You (Part 4)

* * *

…

…

…

Well shit.

D-Lister's dead.

Seeing the motionless body of the Ultimate Actor was pretty damn surreal. Just a little while ago he was going on and on about "Choose spare guys!" and "None of us will be eliminated!" and now he's the first one out of the Traitor/Truce game.

I didn't care _that much _for the guy, but I cared more for him than I did the TV host and spy. It was honestly kinda sad to see him go. He was certainly more useful in investigations and trials than most of the dumbasses here; plus it was fun to pick on him.

"You...asshole!" The barista guy yelled, angrily turning towards the Ultimate Occultist dickhead.

"I told you not to give me that bullshit," Kuro scoffed. "I'm not the only one who voted eliminate. You did too, remember?" Hiiro said nothing in response, instead narrowing his eyes and turning away from him.

Taking a look at the results screen, I realized the asshole was unfortunately right. A number of us voted to eliminate our partner.

Hell, even I was thinking of doing so, until I realized that bitchass Takumi was probably too much of a good boy to vote eliminate, so I decided to spare him _this time_ around.

No promises for next time, though.

"H-he's dead…" Koko quietly said in a wavering tone. Her face was as pale as a ghost and her shaky hands were covering her mouth.

"...He didn't deserve to die." The card dealer guy remarked, taking off his vest and approaching Seizo's body, respectfully covering Seizo's face with it.

The prodigy girl looked depressed and wasn't saying anything. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her eyes were closed, probably to stop any tears from falling.

Takumi had his fists clenched at his sides as he glared at Monokuma. He and Seizo probably bonded a little when I sent Seizo to go get him from Monokuma, so he must be taking it pretty hard.

The cryptid enthusiast was sadly staring at Seizo's body, but his eyes were free of tears. His positive ass self is probably trying to find the good in Seizo's death...if there _is _any.

Evelyn and Francesca were comforting a sobbing Nadia. Geez, that girl is way too sensitive, I can't even remember her having _one _conversation with Seizo.

The girl who tried to kill me was silently sobbing, covering her face with her hands and standing away from everyone else.

The group of those who looked indifferent to D-Lister's death consisted of Leonia, Isami, Sonoda, Mari, and Norikazu.

"It's a shame someone as promising as him is gone." Leonia remarked. "He certainly had the potential to lead a great life."

"...He wasn't as annoying as some of the people here." Isami said while writing something down in that journal of hers. "...I'll miss him."

"Aw man," Sonoda frowned, shaking his head in disappointment. "I was thinking of recruiting him to be a part of the HFH Enterprise **official **bank…He had just the hot-headed yet friendly personality I was looking for."

"Ugh, why did _he _have to be out first?" Mari whined, putting her hands on her hips. "He was so much more interesting and enjoyable than most of you losers..._by the way_, can I have his jacket?" She added. Everyone ignored her.

"Such an insensitive girl," Norikazu chastised. "Still, Seizo left me alone most of the time, so I'll miss that from him."

Monokuma watched all of this happen with the biggest shit eating grin on his highly punchable face. "Upupu, I can't believe _he's _the first one out! I knew that selfless personality of his was going to be his downfall! Ahaha, now there's no one around to give annoying speeches about hope and friendship, so kill away, ya bastards!"

"Don't be an idiot." I sneered. "I may not be as drunk on hope as D-Lister was, but I don't condone killing or any of that shit."

I turned to look at everyone. "Things won't change around here just because Seizo's dead. Like I said before, vote however you want in the Traitor/Truce game, but kill someone, and I swear that I'll find out who you are and beat the shit out of you."

"Ooo, so scary," Kuro quipped, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure some threat from a discount Wright brother isn't scaring anybody."

FUCK, this dude's annoying as hell._ But_ I took a deep breath, kept my composure, and brushed him off; still trying out that being a better person thing…

"What are you going to do to him?" Akumu quietly asked, looking up at Monokuma.

"Upupu, don't worry, I'll personally bring him to Heaven or Hell myself!" Monokuma answered, jumping down from his podium and carelessly picking Seizo's body up.

"I'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow, for the next round of Traitor/Truce!" Monokuma announced. "I'm sure it'll be a fun one, so get readyyy!"

The little shit then did that weird spinny thing, and he disappeared, along with the body of the Ultimate Actor.

The silence in the announcement room was insane. As corny as it sounds: I'm sure that if you dropped a pin, you'd be able to hear it drop…

I get that most people are pretty sad, but there's something I gotta do.

"All right, listen up," I shouted, drawing the attention of everyone. "I'm going to need to talk to everyone here; one on one. You're going to tell me who was on the card that you got."

The previous silence was immediately disrupted with loud protests.

"No way, **Takahashi**!" Evelyn frowned. "You have no right to know our personal business!"

"As if I'd tell you _anything_." Norikazu glared.

"I-I, um, was planning on keeping it to myself, if that's ok…" Nadia whispered.

"You can't do that!" Fran claimed. "We don't have to tell you anything."

"Oh yeah you do," I said. "I mentioned this earlier today, remember? **I'm the leader, you **_**have **_**to do what I say**."

That shut them up pretty quickly. Most of them still looked upset and were glaring daggers at me, but I didn't care.

If I knew who everyone's most important person was, and just how much they cared about them, it'd make it easier to suss out the killer_ if_ it comes to that…

"We'll do it in private." I continued. "And I won't tell anyone; you have my word on that."

"Fine." Evelyn sighed. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you. I'll go first."

Everyone but Evelyn and I walked into the dining room, awaiting their turn.

I went to go sit on the stage, with a reluctant Evelyn following and taking a seat next to me.

"Hey." I greeted, trying to lighten the mood and decrease the obvious tension between us.

"Hello…" She dryly responded, not meeting my gaze.

I sighed, deciding to just cut to the chase. "Your most important person. Who is it?"

Evelyn thought for a moment before replying. "...My mother. I love both of my parents equally, but I suppose I've always favored my mother a bit more."

I nodded, making a mental note in my head. "Alright, thanks. Bring in someone else."

She nodded, stepping up from the stage and leaving the announcement room.

Hiiro came in about a minute after she left.

The barista didn't even bother to sit down next to me _or_ look me in the eye.

He simply answered my question: "My father, the man responsible for my talent. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today."

"Tha-" I started to say, but Hiiro ignored me and left.

Asshole…

One by one, each of my classmates entered the announcement room and told me who their most important person was.

After that was finally done (it took a lot longer than I had anticipated…), I thought over what everyone told me.

_**Most Important People**_

Evelyn - "...**My mother**. I love both of my parents equally, but I suppose I've always favored my mother a bit more."

Hiiro - "**My father**, the man responsible for my talent. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today."

Nadia - "Um, **my big s-sister**. She's a pyrotechnician who helps make my stunts more thrilling."

Sonoda - "A-ha, that is the question, isn't it? Well, my most important person just so happens to be my **father**! The old man's a banker who taught me everything there is to know about the art of selling."

Mari - "Heyyy, Taka! You already know, don't you? It's **my** **agent**. The woman's totally annoying sometimes, _but _she's one of the best in the biz, so I can't lose her."

Kuro - "Tch, why should I tell you? ...Ugh, fine. Me and Shiro both have different people. Mine is **Shiro**...and Shiro's is **me**." (This one I found pretty damn interesting. Shiro and Kuro's most important person is each other?)

Francesca - "It's** my father**. He actually went missing, and I've been looking for him for quite a while...Also, she wasn't in the picture, but if anything happened to my cat, Isis, I think I'd lose it..."

Satoko - "U-um, I guess mine is more like most important _people_. Both **my mother and father **were pictured on the card that I got."

Akumu - "It's **my grandpa**. We used to do everything together; he and my grandma are the ones who encouraged me to go exploring to investigate cryptids."

Jack - "**My mother**. One of the few women in this world that I can _partially_ let my guard down around."

Isami - "...It's **my childhood caretaker**." (She didn't even bother to come into the announcement room; she had Clara relay her answer to me…)

Clara - "Um, it's **my dad**. He's the only family I have left...By the way, I wanted to apologize for what I did...I know no words can fix the damage that was done, but I'm really sorry. I acted like an irrational fool, who only thought about the negative things you've done and said. You've done a lot for us as leader, and I should've appreciated that more…Just like you're working on bettering yourself, so am I."

Koko - "**M-my mom**. I can't do anything without her…"

Takumi - "**My brother**, **Junpei**. I wouldn't be able to function without him, haha…" (Ouch, the little shit sounds super depressed…)

Norikazu - "**My friend**, **Karina**."

Leonia - "**My fiance**,** Albert**. And yes, for the hundredth time: I know I'm 'too young to be married'..."

Goddamn, that took forever. I collapsed onto the stage, taking a second to close my eyes.

This leader shit is exhausting as hell, but I kinda signed up for it...

I slowly stood back off, shaking off the tiredness. D-Lister didn't die just for me to act like a little bitch.

I had to step up my game!

…

…

…

Eventually. For now, I think I'll finish the next chapter of the _Vintage Aeroplanes _book I found in the library.

* * *

I left the announcement room, heading straight for the comfort of my bedroom.

Unfortunately, just as I was about to leave the dining room, I was stopped by Dumbass 1 and Dumbass 2.

"Taka," Evelyn called, holding me back as I gripped the handle of the door leading to the hallway.

I resisted the urge to tell her to fuck off and just keep going.

"...Yes?" I questioned, turning around to see Evelyn and Fran both staring at me.

"We were wondering if you would like to do some looking around with us." Fran asked. "Eva and I were were curious about the second floor, so Eva asked Monokuma if there was any more to the second floor and he replied with the very vague response of: _Maybeeeee_."

"So, we're both planning on doing some looking around." Evelyn finished. "I can't sit still knowing there's something Monokuma might be hiding. We'll need to investigate every room _thoroughly_, searching for anything suspicious."

"Why are you so sure there's something suspicious or hidden about the second floor?" I asked. "Seems to me that it's just a normal floor…"

"Think about it," Evelyn said. "There's one room on the second floor we're completely unable to access."

"There's also one on the first floor," I shrugged. "And no matter how hard we've tried, we've been unable to open it."

"Well, _technically_, we were able to open the room on the first floor." Fran sheepishly responded. "It was just the door _inside of it _that was locked."

"C'mon, Takahashi," Evelyn sighed, growing impatient. "Come help us!"

I raised a brow. "Why do you need _me_ to go look with you? Sounds like the two of you are both already determined to go investigate no matter what I answer."

"Since you're the leader and all, we were_ hoping_ you'd step up to the plate..." Fran explained with an 'innocent' smile."

"Yes," Evelyn nodded. "It _is _the leader-type thing to do, after all."

I sighed. These two are going to drive me crazy.

"...Fine." I answered. "But only for a little while. I have some important business to attend to that you guys are keeping me from."

"Okey dokey!" Francesca smiled. "Not a problem."

"We'll have you back home by curfew, I promise." Evelyn joked with a wry smile.

The two of them lead me to the announcement room door, but just as we were about to leave, yet _another _dumb ass interrupted us.

"Now hold on just a moment," A masculine voice demanded.

I turned around to see Hiiro standing next to Koko, who was starting to look a little better.

"We want in on this investigation too!" Koko eagerly said, a determined expression on her face.

"Yes," Hiiro nodded. "Seizo would want all of us to continue investigating the ship."

"The more the merrier," Francesca smiled. "After all, it'd make our investigation easier to have more sets of eyes."

"And it'll be more fun, too." Evelyn added with a chuckle.

"..._**Fine**_." I grumbled. "But that's i-"

"W-wait!"

"Yes, wait for us, **Taka darling**!"

Oh hell no.

I turned around to see the most unlikely pair.

Mari, whose heels made her tower over Nadia, looked like an evil enchantress standing next to Nadia, who had the same scared expression as always. What the fuck did Mari do to Nadia in order to get her to stand within six feet of her?

"Me and Nadia here would also like to investigate with you guys." Mari smirked. "We're all on the same team, after all, _right_?"

"U-um, yeah!" Nadia nodded. "I want to help investigate rather than just sitting around...I-I promise I won't be a nuisance to anybody!"

"Mari, you literally voted to eliminate me." Evelyn frowned, crossing her arms and glaring at the Ultimate Runway Model. "The only reason I'm still here is because I luckily _also _voted to eliminate, but only because_ I knew_ you'd do so…"

"Oh please, _plenty_ of us voted to eliminate our partner!" Mari scoffed, rolling her eyes. "And besides, the Traitor/Truce game is something _totally _separate from the Killing Game and our daily lives here. So, I suggest that when we're not in the middle of a round, we shouldn't discuss it. It'll only do more harm."

"You're just trying to avoid getting called out for picking eliminate every round…" Fran mumbled.

"Uh, Mari's right, I guess." I sighed, scratching my head. "What happens in the Traitor/Truce game stays in the Traitor/Truce game. But anyways, Mari, why the hell do you and Nadia randomly want to investigate with us? And while I'm at it: when the hell did you and Nadia even become friends? You're like a wolf and she's like a lamb, or something."

"We're two girls with _amazing _fashion sense, so we naturally get along." Mari answered with a grin, pulling a clearly uncomfortable Nadia closer to her. "And like I said before, we can't just sit around _not _helping! We should _all _be doing our part to investigate more of this ship."

"Um, y-yes." Nadia nodded. "Mari reminds me of my older sister in a way…"

"I didn't know your older sister was the devil incarnate." Hiiro sarcastically quipped, earning him a playful smack on the shoulder by Koko.

"_Anyways_," Evelyn sighed. "I suppose I see no problem with Nadia and Mari wanting to investigate with us. As long as _Mari _behaves, we should be fine."

"I _promise_." Mari claimed with a sneaky smile on her face.

"I'll behave!" Nadia quickly added.

"Ok then, let's go." Fran nodded.

She opened the door to the announcement room, and we made our way to the second floor.

* * *

_**Akumu**_

I can't believe Seizo's gone…

He was the first person I met, and the one who I felt the closest to.

I felt a tap, and turned to see a sad Satoko taking a seat next to me.

"Hello, **Akumu**..." She said quietly. "How're you holding up?"

"It's definitely hard, but I'm trying my best to stay optimistic and positive," I answered with the biggest smile I could muster. "I know Seizo wouldn't want us to be sad over his death, especially because it happened due to him doing what he believed in."

Satoko slowly nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right...though, I still find it strange knowing that we'll never see him talk or smile again. It makes it hard to try and be positive when you're surrounded by negativity."

I nodded with a sigh. "I know...but, you gotta take a look around!" I encouraged.

I pointed out Jack and Clara, the former of which was comforting the latter. "Look at them! They may be sad, but they're sticking by each other."

I then pointed to Takumi holding up a paper to a reluctant Sonoda, who read it with suspicion. "Even Takumi and Sonoda are bonding! I have no idea what they're talking about, but it doesn't matter."

I then put my hand on Satoko's shoulder. "I know times are tough now that we're three men down, but we gotta try and stick together and be positive. It'll do us no good if we just sit around moping and sulking, after all."

"Hm, I guess you're right." Satoko nodded with a small smile. "I think Seizo once said something similar, so that motivates me even more!"

"That's the spirit!" I grinned. "Find the motivation to stay positive anyway you can; if it helps you, it helps you."

"Got it!" Satoko said. "Today marks a new era of positivity for me. Thank you, Akumu. You really know how to cheer me up!"

"That's my job," I laughed. "And just know I'm always here for you. You and Seizo were the first two people I met after waking up here, so we're pretty much always going to be stuck together."

"You got it," Rose giggled. "I'll look after you and you'll look after me! Together, we'll make it out of here alive and well."

"That's a promise!"

* * *

_**Isami**_

"You've exhausted all other options?" Leonia asked us, a skeptical expression on her face.

"Yes, believe me." Norikazu sighed. "No matter what we do, Kuro still remains in control of Shiro's body."

"It is quite frustrating…" I frowned. "We haven't seen Shiro in days…"

"Yes," Norikazu nodded. "_Kuro's _been stealing the spotlight from him; not letting him have control of his own body. According to that comment Kuro made earlier, it's apparently because he doesn't want Shiro to experience the stress and anxiety of the Traitor/Truce game, but I suspect he has some kind of ulterior motive in mind…"

"Hm, that could very well be true…" Leonia agreed, rubbing her chin in thought. "What do you think, **Isami**?"

I looked up from my writing. "...According to my notebook, we thought of an idea the other day that we haven't tried yet." I answered.

"And what might that be?" Leonia questioned, her voice dripping in skepticism.

"Well, simply whacking Kuro over the head to knock him out." I answered. "It may seem harsh, but it could very well be the thing that does the trick…"

"Possibly, but we risk hurting Shiro's body in the process." Norikazu sighed, shaking his head. "I wouldn't risk it."

I frowned. "Hm, I guess you're right...well, I suppose we'll just have to deal with Kuro having control of Shiro's body for the time being."

"As long as he doesn't do anything idiotic, we should be fine." Norikazu nodded.

"We can only hope…" Leonia sighed, shaking her head as she glanced at Kuro's bedroom door.

Do not worry, Shiro, we'll see you soon...

* * *

Once on the second floor, I immediately regretted going along with Evelyn and Fran's investigation...

Mari and Evelyn were arguing about who knows what, Koko and Hiiro were making lovey-dovey eyes at each other, and Nadia and Fran were giggling about something Fran said.

"Oh, for fuck's sakes, an you guys _please _shut up?" I asked in the nicest way possible, which came out harsh and abrasive. "All this talking isn't going to do _anything_ to help our investigation."

"Oh, right…" Evelyn reluctantly nodded. "My apologies. It's just whenever Mari's around, I can feel my blood pressure rise and my heart growing cold."

"And whenever Evelyn's around, I can feel my depression kicking in." Mari quipped, twirling a lock of her hair and giving the Ultimate Translator a disapproving look.

"Hiiro, thank you for always taking care of me," Koko smiled. "I really appreciate it!"

"Oh, it is, um, no problem." Hiiro nervously chuckled, blushing.

"Hehe, _and then _she decided to move to Long Island because they made her favorite drink there!" Fran giggled.

"Oh my goodness!" Nadia blushed.

"Ok, yeah, we're not doing this shit…" I sighed, shaking my head at my classmates.

All seven of us investigating together was bound to end in chaos, so I made the decision to split us up.

"Mari, go with Nadia to investigate the VR room." I instructed her.

"_What_?!" Mari gasped. "But I thought you and I would make the perfect pair! This _is _a perfect opportunity for us to be around each other, after all."

"Yeah well, not today, princess." I frowned. "I have a headache that's about to burst my skull open, and that high pitched voice of yours isn't going to help it."

"Why you smug little b-" Mari's words were quickly cut short as she was pulled away by a frantic Nadia.

"U-um, come on Mari!" Nadia urged, pulling her into the direction of the VR room. "Let's not say something we'll regret!"

I breathed a sigh of relief once the two were finally gone.

"Ok...Koko, Hiiro, and Evelyn, investigate the game room." I demanded. "Evelyn, make sure Romeo and Juliet keep their hands off of each other for the duration of the investigation…"

"H-hey!" Koko said, her face a deep shade of red. "We weren't going to put our h-hands on each other!"

"That is correct," Hiiro agreed in an unconvincing tone. "O-our relationship is strictly friendly."

Evelyn sighed, ignoring the duo. "Yes, Takahashi, I know…"

The trio entered the game room, with Koko and Hiiro staying far apart from each other…

"Alright, Fran." I said, turning towards the Ultimate Archaeologist. "You're with me."

"Alrighty," Fran said, not looking phased or uncomfortable. "Not a problem."

"We'll be investigating the swimming pool area _and _the infirmary." I revealed.

"Oh, um, ok." She slowly nodded, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "But, may I ask you a question? Will any of us be investigating the store? Oh, and the gym? It's such a big area so I figur-"

"No." I interrupted. "When we were prepping for the kickball game, Evelyn and I thoroughly searched the gym _and _equipment room. The only thing of interest besides some of the equipment was the fact there's an air vent near the floor of the equipment room for some reason. And as for the store, Sonoda, Takumi, and Clara have ripped that place to shreds, and they haven't found anything of importance. So, let's go."

"Alrighty then," Fran exclaimed. "Let's get to it!"

* * *

I decided for the two of us to enter the swimming pool area first.

Looking around, I couldn't help but get a strange sense of déjà vu.

Just the other day, **18 **of us were gathered here, talking, relaxing, or playing around.

Then we got the news about how we were going to play Traitor/Truce and everything changed.

Now there's only **17 **of us left standing.

What's more, there _should've been_ **20 **of us at the pool that day…

But both Silver and Ritsu have been gone for awhile now.

I may be a dick and douchebag, but I'm not some heartless monster. Not having the two of them here felt weird and unnatural. It almost felt like some kind of dream (or nightmare…).

I was _almost _expecting to wake up one day and just see Ritsu and Silver at the dining table with the rest of us.

But deep down, I knew it wasn't true.

Because the harsh reality of this killing game is the fact that it's all too real.

Silver,

Ritsu,

And Seizo are all gone forever. Nothing in this unforgiving world can ever bring them back.

"Hey, are you ok?" Fran snapped me out of my thoughts, and I quickly nodded.

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." I answered. "Let's begin the search."

The pool room was the second biggest out of the second floor rooms, behind the gym, so Fran and I had our work cut out for us if we were going to investigate every nook and cranny.

_**(Not a Murder) Investigation Start**_

Looking around the pool room, I saw that there was nothing immediately obviously suspicious.

So whatever_ might_ be hidden in here wasn't noticeable upon first glance.

The pool room, like every other room in this place, was made up of four walls. The two on the sides contained the typical blue bleachers you see in every indoor pool, the one in the back was plain and bare, exposing the painted white brick that it was made of, and the one in the front just contained the door that Fran and I just used to enter.

Since they were the biggest, most suspicious things in the room, I decided to focus on the bleachers.

I told Fran to investigate the bleachers on the right side of the room, and I took the left.

I ran my hand over every single seat, _twice_.

I looked under every seat, in each aisle, _and _behind the bleachers.

I even tugged on every seat, trying to see if I could trigger a secret mechanism or something.

And I found…

…

…

…

Absolutely nothing.

Feeling slightly disgruntled and annoyed with myself, I decided to check in with Fran, who was still in the middle of investigating her side of the room.

"Sorry, but, I'm not finding anything…" She sighed. "It seems that the bleachers are exactly what they look like: normal bleachers.

I frowned. "There's not really much else in this room...let's go."

If the bleachers held no secrets, then I doubted anything else in the room would.

Among the objects of interest in the pool room, besides the bleachers, were the pool, diving board, and lifeguard chair. Because we had all used them the other day, I doubted the fact that they were hiding something.

Oh yeah, there's also the anti-gravity generator things, but I'm not messing with that shit. They're probably what's keeping the water in the pool _in _the pool. And besides, the photo shoot choreographer girl took a look at them when the second floor first opened up.

"Ok!" Fran nodded. "Even though we didn't have any luck here, I'm sure we'll be luckier next time around!"

The two of us exited the room.

Tch, I was so damn stupid…

There was something obvious I didn't bother to investigate…

Something you saw as soon as you walked into the room, but didn't necessarily suspect; making it perfect to hide Monokuma's secret.

* * *

On our way to the infirmary, Fran and I ran into Koko, Hiiro, and Evelyn.

"You guys are done too?" Evelyn asked. "We just finished up."

"Just a normal game room," Hiiro sighed. "It _did _have an air vent, but that's just for air conditioning."

"To go with the flow!" Koko giggled.

"Where's Mari and Nadia?" Fran questioned. "If you guys are done, they should be too."

"Oh, we ran into Mari." Evelyn nodded. "Apparently, there's nothing at all interesting in the VR room. Nadia is still there now, playing some kind of racing game."

"And Mari?" I asked.

"She went back to her room for some 'beauty rest'." Hiiro replied, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't bother trying to stop her." Evelyn shrugged. "She doesn't contribute anything to the group besides whining and callous insults."

I ignored Evelyn's display of hatred for Mari and sighed. "Well, we still have the infirmary to search, so if you guys want to make yourselves useful for once, come and help Fran and I investigate."

"Of course!" Koko nodded. "Like you guys said before: the more people investigating the faster it'll go!"

The small group of us headed to the infirmary, where we hoped we'd find _something _interesting.

Like fuck, this whole things been a useless waste of my time! I could've been finished with the chapter in _Vintage Aeroplanes _about the Cessna Cardinal by now...I mean, I already know everything there is to know about it, but hey, relearning information about planes is way more interesting than spending time with these shit-for-brains.

* * *

Once inside the infirmary, we quickly realized that our efforts were more than likely in vain.

It was such a plain room, with nothing interesting or out of the ordinary at all…

But, nonetheless, we decided to investigate every single cabinet in the medicine and file cabinet, under each bed, and in every corner.

…

…

…

"Just like I thought." I frowned. "There's nothing here."

"I mean, we found another air vent!" Koko nervously giggled. "Um, that's probably important somehow, right?"

"I doubt it…" Evelyn sighed.

She was looking in the medicine cabinet, and pulled out some sort of clear bottle. "Huh. Well, this is good to have."

"What is that?" Hiiro questioned. "Rubbing alcohol?"

Evelyn shook her head. "No. This is **Senza-Sangue**, a safe mixture of ammonia and bleach that makes it easy to clean up blood. It's considered safer than just mixing ammonia and bleach by themselves because Senza-Sanque is made up of the _perfect _ratio of ammonia and bleach, so it doesn't produce as much chloramines, causing a more mild affect when exposed to the smell of it. Hm, now that I think about it, this is probably what Monokuma used to clean up Silver's crime scene."

…

…

…

"How the fuck do you know all this?!" I asked with a stunned expression. Was this bitch secretly a serial killer or something?

Evelyn laughed. "It's made in Italy, and I read it in a book while studying Italian. Funnily enough, Senza-Sangue is actual-"

"Nobody cares." I interrupted, to which Evelyn shot me a glare. "Anyways, is that all that's in here? I think we've been investigating for long enough."

"Uh oh," Fran gulped, pulling a bottle out of the medicine cabinet. "Look at this, guys..."

She showed it to all of us. It was a clear, brown bottle made of glass, with 'Zzz' written on the front in a very familiar red handwriting…

Luckily, or _un_luckily, we didn't have to wonder what it was, because Teddy Roosevelt himself came out of nowhere, appearing in front of us.

"Wow, Koko Puffs!" Monokuma gasped. "You found my super secret **Sleepy Time **poison!"

"Huh?" Koko questioned, tilting her head to the side. "Uh, no I didn't..."

"Oh…" Monokuma said, scratching his head. "Then you must be...Eviolin! Right, _right_?"

"Do you mean _Evelyn_?" Fran sighed with a frown. "And no, I'm Francesca."

"Oh!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Geez, all of you look so similar; it gets confusing when trying to remember all of your names!"

"Can you just explain why you're here?" I said, rolling my eyes at the idiotic mechanical abomination. "What is 'Sleepy Time' poison?"

"It's eggactly what it sounds like, Bakahashi!" Monokuma answered. "Sleepy Time poison is injected into the bloodstream, making its victim fall into a _deep _sleep!"

"So they die?" Hiiro inquired.

"Of course not!" Monokuma claimed. "I know it's called poison and all, but trust me, it's just a sedative."

"Well, I'm not letting anybody get their hands on this." I frowned, snatching the bottle from Fran and putting it in my pocket. "I'll put in my room with the rest of the dangerous things."

"_**Oh no you don't**_!" To my surprise, Monokuma ran over to me, dug in my pocket, and stole the Sleepy Time poison!

"H-hey, you asshole!" I yelled. "Give that back!"

"Nope, no can do." Monokuma protested. "I should've mentioned this earlier, but **nothing is to be taken outside of the infirmary**! Any bottle or piece of first aid equipment _must _be used **inside **the infirmary!"

"Oh…" I slowly nodded. "Then I guess it's not that big of a deal if this poison is in here."

"Yeah," Evelyn nodded. "If no one can take the bottle of Sleepy Time poison, then they can't use it unless they somehow lure someone in here."

"Which is highly unlikely." Fran concluded.

"Correct," Monokuma said. "And y'know what, since it's _technically _not an official rule, I'll have one of you enforce it…"

"Enforce?" Koko repeated.

"Enforce!" Monokuma said again. He pulled a **key **out of nowhere, and handed it to Takahashi. "I'll let you decide, Bakahashi! Choose one of your classmates to keep this key, which leads to the infirmary. From now on, it will be permanently **locked**. Make sure to choose so-"

"Hiiro." I decided, tossing the barista the key.

"_What_?!" Hiiro gasped. "Why me? I'm already the lifeguard and have to stop whatever I'm doing to supervise whoever goes swimming so I just find it completely unfair to have me take care of the infi-"

"Oh, relax…" I sighed, crossing my arms. "It's not that big of a job. We rarely will need to go to the infirmary so you won't have _that _much work to do."

Hiiro frowned, but stuffed the key into his pocket and didn't object anymore.

"Well, ya bastards, I gotta go." Monokuma announced. "But you'll hear from me again in _just _a few seconds."

He did that spinny thing, and disappeared.

"A few seconds?" Fran repeated. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Certain locations will now be locked for the remainder of the night. Sweet dreams my passengers, let the sparkle of the stars and the roar of the spaceships's engine lull you into a deeeepppp sleep. Gooood niighhttt!"

"Ah, that explains it." Hiiro nodded.

"Phew, today was a long one…" Koko commented with a yawn.

"Kickball, the Traitor/Truce game, _and _investigating the second floor." Fran said. "I'm glad it's finally over."

I glanced at the ground, thinking about how some of us would never get to experience another day…

Fuck…

"Well, good night everyone." Hiiro waved, beginning to walk out of the infirmary. "I will see you all tomorrow…"

"Night, everyone." Koko smiled, following after him. "Sweet dreams…"

Koko and Hiiro left, leaving just Evelyn, Fran, and I in the infirmary.

"Phew, today was hard…" Fran sighed. "I can't believe we lost Seizo…"

I said nothing, but nodded. I understood where the archaeologist girl was coming from. Losing anybody was shitty, but D-Lister especially. He left an impact on all of-

Eh, actually, nevermind. The guy was kinda annoying at times.

"Tomorrow will be better!" Evelyn exclaimed in response to Fran's woes. "We'll make sure of it!"

* * *

**_Day 13 aboard the HFH Enterprise..._**

Yeah, 'tomorrow' was _not _better.

Almost immediately after waking up and gathering in the dining hall, we were all called to the announcement room for round 4 of the Traitor/Truce game.

We all gathered in the announcement room as directed, awaiting Monokuma's arrival.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Sonoda groaned. "I haven't even eaten breakfast."

"The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can." Jack said in response. "If only _everyone _was already here; we would've probably already begun by now."

I looked around, and Card Dealer was right. Neither of the Ultimate Occultist's split personalities were here…

"What the fuck?" I frowned. "This is unacceptable."

"I agree," Mari huffed. "Whoever gets paired with Kuro, eliminate his ass…"

"Unprofessional and unethical," Norikazu commented. "Not surprising given his behavior lately."

"He is certainly being quite the annoyance." Leonia agreed, shaking her head.

"I hope I'm never paired with K-Kuro…" Nadia whispered, shifting uncomfortably.

"Maybe it _would_ be better if someone voted him off the island." Takumi suggested with a shrug.

"...Don't be a fool." Isami chastised. "If Kuro is punished, so is Shiro."

"Y-yeah, and I really don't want to be…"

We all looked up, to see **Shiro **standing in front of the door.

"I'm sorry, I'm l-late, everyone." He apologized, nervously laughing. "Kuro was explaining the rules to me…"

"So he finally let you have control?" Satoko beamed. "Glad to hear it."

"I'm sorry you're walking into a circumstance such as this," Akumu sighed. "But don't worry, we'll make it through together!"

"Y-yes." Shiro nodded with a blush, looking Akumu in the eyes. "I promise to do my best!"

"How touching," A certain someone's irritating voice sarcastically said. "17 of you, all getting along and ignoring the fact that there's one less person here than there was yesterday!"

"We're not ignoring it." Fran frowned. "We're just choosing to not focus on it 24/7. It'll do us no good, after all."

"Exactly." Evelyn agreed. "It's just like what happened with Silver and Ritsu. We haven't forgotten them; we all grieve and honor their memories in different ways, that _you _have no right to know anything about."

"Geez!" Monokuma said, putting a hand on his forehead. "No need to be so rude! I'm just trying to make conversation..._anyways_, since none of you are in the talking mood, then how about we get this party started?"

Here it goes…

"Let the 4th round of Traitor/Truce begin! Everyone-"

"_Wait_!"

It was Clara, who was curiously looking at each and every booth. "I, um, have a question."

Monokuma did not look pleased to be interrupted. "..._Yes_, Ms. Odette?" He asked in an annoyed tone.

"There's an odd number of us." Clara remarked. "How are partners going to work now?"

Oh shit, she's right. With Seizo gone, only 17 of us remain in the Traitor/Truce game.

Is Monokuma going to make three of us be in a threeway now, or something?

"The pairs will work exactly as they did before." Monokuma frowned. "The only difference is: Seizo's vote will automatically default to being spare."

"Ah, that makes sense." Takumi nodded. "But then again: doesn't that mean no one will benefit from voting to eliminate him?"

Monokuma shrugged. "It's up to you! Eliminate him all over again, or spare him! It doesn't make a difference since he's already gone."

"Now," He glared in Clara's direction. "Can I begin without being interrupted by murderous little girls?"

Clara rolled her eyes but nodded.

"Alrighty then!" Monokuma said. "Let the 3rd round of Traitor/Truce begin! Everyone, go find your booths, _**now**_!"

We all headed to go find our booths.

It was almost like a routine now…

Mine was towards the beginning.

After entering, I immediately looked at the screen.

_Takahashi Jirou vs. Seizo Morine (__**E**__)_

_**Takahashi,**_

_**SPARE**_

_**ELIMINATE**_

Tch, really, Monokuma? Pairing me up with the dead guy?

I sighed, choosing spare. I didn't want any sort of dead guy karma affecting me if I voted to eliminate him…

"You've chosen spare. Please do not leave until instructed to do so."

I yawned. This was boring and annoying as hell…

After a few minutes, the announcement we all were probably waiting for sounded:

"Please exit the room. Please go in front of the stage, where voting results will be displayed, for all participants of the Traitor/Truce game. Thank you."

Finally.

I left my booth, and headed to the front of the stage. All of us were quiet, awaiting the results of this round.

I had no reason to worry about me being eliminated, so I just stood and relaxed.

Hm, I wonder which chapter of _Vintage Aeroplanes _I should read next. I think there's one on the Ford Trimotor, which should be pretty interesting since it's pretty damn old.

Oh, and there's also the Fokker F27 Friendship, one of the fi-

"Round 4 of the Traitor/Truce game is now over!" Monokuma suddenly announced, snapping me out of my daydream. "Let's see what choices everyone made this time around, hm?"

Oh shit, I guess it's time.

I turned my attention to the screen.

The screen powered on, and one by one, our voting results were displayed…

_Hiiro Sayoama vs. Jack Masaki_

_Hiiro: __**SPARE**_

_Jack: __**SPARE**_

_Isami Kanagi vs. Norikazu Kanno_

_Isami: __**SPARE**_

_Norikazu: __**SPARE**_

_Leonia Taylor vs. Sonoda Eisen_

_Leonia: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Sondoa: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Nadia Levitsky vs. Koko Kagawa_

_Nadia: __**SPARE**_

_Koko: __**SPARE**_

_Evelyn Bryant vs. Satoko Kiyomizu_

_Evelyn: __**SPARE**_

_Satoko: __**SPARE**_

_Takahashi Jirou vs. Seizo Morine (__**E**__)_

_Takahashi: __**SPARE**_

_Seizo: __**SPARE**_

_Takumi Kyoshi vs. Clara Odette_

_Takumi: __**SPARE**_

_Clara: __**SPARE**_

_Mari Tamatsuki vs. Akumu Tsubasa_

_Mari: __**ELIMINATE**_

_Akumu: __**SPARE**_

_Francesca Croft vs. Shiro/Kuro_

_Francesca: __**SPARE**_

_Shiro/Kuro: __**ELIMINATE**_

_**ELIMINATED**_

_Seizo Morine (Round 3)_

_Akumu Tsubasa (Round 4)_

_Francesca Croft (Round 4)_

…

…

…

_**WHAT THE FUCK?!**_

"Two people…" Koko said in shock.

"No way!" Takumi gasped. "Akumu _and _Francesca?!"

"Well…" Akumu nervously laughed, his normally tan face now pale as a ghost. "This is a most unfortunate development…"

"Shiro…" Francesca whispered, staring at the Ultimate Occultist in surprise.

Shiro said nothing, glancing at the ground with a smirk…

"Hey, don't say I didn't warn you." Mari shrugged. "My agent is far too important to die, as am I."

"Akumu…" Satoko said with tears in her eyes. "You said that-"

"We'd all make it out together." Akumu nodded with a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Satoko…"

"FRANCESCA!" Evelyn screamed, running up to the archaeologist and embracing her in a hug. "No, no, no! Why did you vote spare?! Please, you can't leave me!"

"...I'm sorry, Evelyn…" Francesca sniffed, tears falling down her face. "I never thought this would happen."

"Shiro." Isami frowned. "Or should I say, _**Kuro**_."

"What?" Norikazu questioned. "What are you talking about?"

"I've written down observations about how Shiro and Kuro speak and act…" Isami revealed. "And the moment 'Shiro' entered the announcement room, I could easily spot the difference. Shiro stutters more, and he also doesn't like eye contact."

"Both things that _Kuro _did." Norikazu realized with a frown.

"No way…" Fran gasped. "So that's why-"

"I voted to eliminate you." Kuro finished for her, his signature, evil grin back on his face. "I already told you guys. I'm not letting Shiro play this game. So no matter how many theories or plans you come up with to get rid of me; I'll still be here. And I'll knock you off one by one. _I'm _going to win the Traitor/Truce game!"

All of us were stunned at Kuro's deceit. Hell, even I couldn't speak.

Was he really that much of an asshole to do something so...fucked up?!

"A brilliant plan, Mr. Kuro!" Monokuma applauded. "Keep it up and you just might be the winner!"

"I don't need any praise." Kuro sneered.

"Ok, ok!" Monokuma said. "Now then, let us commence Francesca Croft and Akumu Tsubasa's punishment for getting eliminated!"

"No, _**NO**_!" Evelyn shouted, holding on tight to Fran.

"Please, don't do this!" Satoko begged, rushing to Akumu's side.

"I'm sorry, guys." Akumu frowned. "I guess I had a little too much _blind _faith." He joked, gesturing to his eye.

Mari narrowed her eyes and didn't say a word.

"Don't worry about me, Eva." Fran smiled, holding back tears. "You'll be fine, I promise!"

Satoko and Evelyn said nothing in response to their friend's words, and simply collapsed beside them, sobbing.

"Let's give it everything we've got!" Monokuma announced. "Time to say goodbye to your classmates! Don't worry, though, I'm _sure_ you'll see them again one day..."

Then, the same thing that happened to Seizo started to occur in the bodies of Akumu and Fran.

The twitching…

The screaming…

The pain they must be in…

Until…

…

…

…

**They were gone**.

* * *

"...Huh?"

* * *

_A/N_: **And that's the end of 2.4! This served as the filler chapter like 1.4 did, with Takahashi taking the reigns from Seizo!**

**Did you guys like it? What are your thoughts on the ending? Any theories as to what will happen now?**

**Thank you guys for reading, see you in the next one!**


	20. Heaven With You (Part 5)

Heaven With You (Part 5)

* * *

**?**

"...Huh?"

The putrid, unmistakable scent of blood filled the room, invading my poor nostrils and causing my stomach to turn.

_Where the hell am I?_

I had woken up, laying on the ground, feeling cold and weak. It was like all the energy had been sucked out of me. Talk about deja vu...

On top of that, I felt something strange on my ankle. It wasn't the usual ankle bracelet Monokuma forced us to wear; it was something heavier, with something on it that dug into my skin. I wouldn't be surprised if there was blood around it.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't see anything. It was pitch black in whatever room I was in.

Seeing no other option, I attempted to stand up, but quickly stumbled and fell back down. I tried _again_, and was met with the same outcome.

Damn it...My body's way too weak right now.

Groaning, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I thought back to the moment that led me here…

_One by one, I could feel myself losing sensation and control of my body...it was as if my soul was being ripped away, but I was still conscious enough to feel the pain…_

_The excruciating pain. I never knew the human body could hurt this much. _

_Thankfully, pretty soon after that, my vision started to fade more and more, and I became disoriented…_

…

Was I dead?

I had no fucking clue…

I mean, I _felt _alive, but if I am, then why am in some light-less room with something heavy on my ankle?

Maybe this is Hell or something, because this sure as hell isn't Heaven.

Ugh, it's no use…

My vision started to fade, and I felt myself slipping away…

I tried my best to keep my eyes open, but to no avail. They slowly closed, and I was still once again.

* * *

_**Takahashi**_

"Akumu…" Satoko was longingly staring at the spot where the cryptid enthusiast, just a few minutes ago, was standing, alive and well and breathing amongst us all. It looked like she had run out of tears, and resorted to dry sobbing.

Evelyn had somewhat pulled herself together, but stood away from the rest of us, her eyes not daring to meet ours (my guess is that she's probably trying her best to remain strong). I would catch her glaring at Kuro every now and then, however, who looked not at all bothered that he had sentenced yet _another _person to death.

After Akumu and Fran were eliminated, Monokuma gave us his same old speech about how 'we shouldn't trust each other' and 'if we don't want the game to go on, we could always kill someone'.

I could see how the bear was right about _some _things, like how we shouldn't trust each other, but goddamn, he pisses me off! Laughing at us in our darkest moments, dismissing people's emotions when they feel like shit, and just putting us all through this in general.

I would've punched the shit out of Build-A-Bear by now if it weren't for that stupid rule…

After he cackled at us for eliminating _two _people, he took Akumu and Fran with him to who knows where, and left the remaining 15 of us to stand in the announcement room, none of us knowing what to do now.

"So, uh," I started to say, feeling a _little _unsettled. "...How are we all feeling?"

"How are we all feeling?" Norikazu repeated, rolling his eyes at me. "It's obvious none of us are feeling well. We've lost _5 _people in a week, and there could very well be more losses to come."

"...The amount of people we are losing in such a short amount of time is devastating." Isami remarked, still maintaining her fairly monotone voice (which made her statement come off as lowkey sarcastic). "It would be surprising to find out that someone among us was completely unaffected by this."

"I thought that archaeologist girl was pretty _ok_." Mari shrugged. "She actually looked kind of familiar to me for some reason. And then of course, there's Seizo, who was one of the only tolerable people here."

"Ugh, what about Akumu? Y'know the guy, you _kinda _just killed." Takumi brought up, looking at Mari with a face of disappointment and disgust.

Mari huffed and looked away from Takumi. "He was...ok."

"None of the eliminated deserved what happened to them." Clara brought up, which surprised most of us. "They were all just trying to do the right thing."

"Hm?" Hiiro looked at Clara with a hint of surprise. "I never thought you would comment on other people doing the right thing." He admitted, a little harshly.

"_Hiiro_…!" Koko frowned, softly hitting his shoulder.

"No, he's right." Clara sighed. "I've already apologized to Takahashi, but all of you deserve a proper apology as well."

"I'm impressed," Leonia admitted. "I was expecting that you'd eventually apologize. I'm pleased that you're doing so now."

"Yeah," Clara said. "I know that it'll be hard for you to ever trust me, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to build back whatever trust I can salvage. And of course, I swear I'll never let my feelings or any of Monokuma's motives get the better of me ever again!" She declared, looking pretty confident and less outspoken than when I met her.

Looking back, I treated the girl like shit. Killing me wouldn't have solved anything other than making her a murderer and me a victim, though. I'm glad her plan didn't work out (plus, no way I'm dying before I get the chance to let the entire world the name of the best fucking pilot to have ever lived).

I don't think Clara and I would ever become best friends or some shit like that, but I could see her as a valuable ally in the future, if we ever get any closer to finding a way out of this hell hole…

Everyone voiced their support or indifference towards Clara's promise. Most people were willing to at least give her a chance, while others were in total support of a Clara redemption arc.

"I'm glad to hear you're working to gain our trust." Koko beamed. "Ummm, does this mean you'll bake me a tray of cookies if I ask?"

"...It is a r-relief to hear that, Clara." Satoko remarked in between sobs. "I'm sure Seizo and Akumu would both be h-happy…" It was at the point where Jack had to let her lean on his shoulder; she was so distraught she couldn't even stand up on her own.

"I feel safer knowing you're not going to try and kill somebody again…" Nadia admitted with a blush. "Um, no offense!"

"None taken." Clara responded with an awkward chuckle. "Um, anyways, that's all I have to say for now…"

"Good," I sighed, finally getting the chance to speak again. "For all of you that are...feeling down. Uh, just know that...you can...talk to me..._if you want_." I muttered, hoping that no one would _really _take me up on my offer.

…

…

…

Thankfully for me, no one said a word. They all looked at me like I was an asshole or something.

Mari was the only one to speak after a while. "Well, if we're done with all of this; why don't you and I get something to eat, Taka?" She questioned with her signature smirk.

I sighed. "Yeah, sure. I guess I can eat…"

"Perfect!" She said. "Koko, whip something up for us, will you?"

"Uh, no?" Koko frowned. "I'm not really in the cooking mood, especially if it involves cooking for you of all people."

"Sassy Koko!" Takumi gasped, but then smiled. "I like it!"

Mari glared at the Food Critic. "_Fine_. Your food is lackluster anyway...I think I'll have one of those sandwiches Seizo made before he left."

She then sauntered out of the announcement room, disapproving and annoyed looks following after her.

I sighed. "If you guys don't need me, 'imma head out now."

"Wait." A soft voice called.

Satoko rubbed her eyes of her tears and cleared her throat. "I...I'm going to get **them **back!" She declared.

…

…

…

"What are you talking about, Satoko?" Jack questioned. "Get who back?"

"The others." Satoko answered. "Seizo, Fran, and Akumu!"

…

…

…

"Are you crazy or something?" I frowned. "Those three are long gone. As shitty as it is, that's the reality of the situation. I know you were close with them or whatever, but there's nothing you can do to get them back."

Satoko shook her head at me. "You're wrong. If you've been paying attention to Monokuma, he's never explicitly stated that they're dead, just that they're...eliminated. So, what reason do we have to believe they're truly deceased?"

"Uh, I dunno, maybe the fact that they're bodies writhed in agony before giving out on them in front of all of us?" Sonoda nervously chuckled.

"Or how we quite literally _saw _their dead bodies." Norikazu sighed.

"We just _assumed _they were dead." Satoko countered. "We never actually checked their pulses or anything like that! You can't deny there is a possibility they're still alive!"

"Well of course not," Leonia nodded. "There is most definitely a possibility that they are still alive...however, it is unfortunately not a likely one."

Satoko shook her head. "You guys are all wrong...I'll prove it!"

And with that, the prodigy stormed out, leaving several of us in shock.

"I...never would've guessed that she'd be the one to snap first…" Koko sadly frowned. "Poor Satoko…"

"She may be smart and intelligent, but she still possesses the brain of a child." Hiiro noted. "Perhaps she has never had to deal with death before and this is simply her way of trying to cope with so many losses in a short amount of time."

"I really hope she's right…" Nadia admitted. "It would make things a lot better for us, and we'd get to see Seizo, Akumu, and Fran again."

"It would…" Isami slowly nodded. "But like Norikazu and Leonia said, it's very unlikely...but, we all have to remember that she's not harming anyone by simply investigating. I suggest we leave her alone to do as she wishes…"

"As long as she doesn't investigate the school store, which is under the sole supervision of the HFH Enterprise **official **bank, I suppose I don't see a problem with it." Sonoda shrugged.

"Hopefully she'll come to reality sooner than later…" Clara sighed. "I wouldn't want her walking into the Traitor/Truce game tomorrow with a troubled mindset."

"I'm sure Satoko will be fine!" Takumi remarked. "She's a smart girl who'll come to her senses soon enough."

"Have you no faith?" Jack suddenly spoke up, glaring at us. "Satoko is the Ultimate Prodigy, and has studied for countless hours on various topics. Just because she's young, _Hiiro_, does not mean she doesn't know what she's doing. If she thinks there's even the slightest chance Seizo, Akumu, and Fran are still alive, I think we should believe her or at least support her."

"She may be smart and everything, but she's in over her head." I shrugged. "Fueling her delusions will do nothing but give her false hope."

"_Or_ it could give her the strength she needs to find out whether her prediction is true or not." Jack argued.

I sighed. "Do whatever you want, Jack O'Lantern, just proceed with caution. Satoko is in a vulnerable state right now and you don't want to do or say something simply for the fact of pleasing her when it could backfire later on." I warned.

"I'm not a fool, Takahashi." Jack frowned.

With that one last_ probably not true_ comment, Jack walked out of the announcement room, following after Satoko.

I rolled my eyes. That guy's going to regret listening to the opinion of a sensitive teenage girl who just lost her closest friend.

We had pretty much wrapped up our discussion, so we all went our separate ways. I looked around, observing the faces of those most in pain over Akumu and Fran's deaths. It was pretty strange seeing Evelyn look so mopey and depressed, given how positive she usually is.

But it's not really all that surprising given how much time Fran and her spent together.

I sighed, trying to shake my thoughts out of my head.

When did I start caring about these people so much? Most of them are annoying and have deliberately pissed me off just because they think I'm a douchebag.

I glanced around the room one last time before heading into the dining room.

* * *

Not only was Mari waiting for me as promised, Nadia and a certain trio were also seated with her.

I raised a brow but approached them.

"What are you three doing here?" I asked.

"We're simply just eating breakfast with our friends." Sonoda answered with a sly smile.

"Yeah…" Takumi agreed in an unconvincing tone. "Our _friends_…" He added, glancing at Mari.

"Mari's been inviting me to eat with her pretty often lately." Clara answered with a shrug. "I'm not sure why, but as long as she doesn't act like a roach again, I don't see the problem."

"It is a little concerning, um, being seen with her when she _did _just e-eliminate Akumu…" Nadia admitted with a blush.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Nads!" Mari insisted. "Remember, all that Traitor/Truce game stuff has nothing to do with our daily lives here. We leave that drama in the announcement room!"

"And Clara, of course there's no problem!" Mari smirked. "I'm just trying to get to know all of you better, so we can be _friends_, like Sonoda said."

"Sure…" Clara slowly nodded, probably just trying to convince herself that Mari was claiming was true.

"Well…" I sighed. It was annoying having all these people around, but I could suck it up for a few minutes. Maybe I could gather some intel…

"Get to know each other better, huh?" I repeated, dragging a chair over from another table and setting it next to Mari. "Who's going first?"

"Going first?" Takumi questioned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, who is going to share something about themselves first." I clarified, sitting down. "That's the only way we're going to get to know each other better."

"Well Clara, Takumi, and I have already done our fair share of sharing." Sonoda answered. "How about the one newest to the group?"

…

…

…

"M-me?!" Nadia blushed, nervously averting her eyes.

"Yeah, I barely know a thing about you." I realized. "Mari's already overloaded me with her rich and lavish backstory, so hearing yours will probably be a nice change of pace."

"Yes…" Nadia nodded. "My life is nowhere near as interesting or spectacular as Mari's…"

"I'm sure that's not true." Clara protested. "As the Ultimate Daredevil, you've probably definitely had a more interesting life than most."

"And unlike most of us, you're from a foreign country!" Takumi added. "I'm tired of hearing about Japan this, Japan that. Tell us about Russia!"

"Oh, um, well if you insist…" Nadia nervously laughed. "As you all most likely know already, I grew up in Russia. I've never lived anywhere else, so when I got the invitation for Hope's Peak, it was a little startling…"

"I can only imagine." Sonoda nodded. "All of us were already in Japan when we received our invites."

"Yes...but my parents and my sister were very supportive of me." Nadia added with a smile. "They have encouraged me throughout my life to pursue my dreams of being a famous daredevil."

"You see, my parents are defense contractors who sell and own various equipment, many of which can be used in my acts." Nadia started. "And then my big sister, Izabelle, is a pyrotechnician who helps me light my cannon and perform fire related stunts."

"You said she was like Mari, right?" I asked. "So she's a bitch?"

"Hey!" Mari glared, hitting my shoulder.

Nadia blushed. "I-I wouldn't say she is super mean or cruel, she just has a habit of teasing me sometimes. But, despite that, she's still my big sister and I care a lot for her. Like I said before, without her and my families support, there's no way I would be at the place in life that I am today."

"A daredevil." Mari surmised. "...I still find that totally wild. I mean, you're so shy and everything. Wouldn't someone like you do better as, like, a librarian or something?"

Nadia shook her head and her facial expression turned serious. "No way! I may be shy and outspoken, and get really scared sometimes, but I live for the thrill that being a daredevil gives me! The feeling I get when I'm soaring through the air, the cheers of the audience...it's something I wouldn't change for the world."

"I get that." Clara nodded. "No matter who you become or what happens in life, there's always that one thing that you'll love no matter what."

"Exactly." Nadia smiled. "Even if I may have scars and burns all over my body, and have been in a coma a few times, I'll always pursue my dreams."

"A coma?!" Takumi repeated. "_A few times_?"

Nadia blushed again. "U-um, yes, you have to keep in mind that a lot of the stunts I do are pretty dangerous...for example, a lot of circuses use fake cannons; they just have springs inside that propel you upwards. But in my acts, I use 100% real and authentic cannons, the same ones you'd find on a pirate ship! Because they use real fire and propel me a few miles into the air! I never know where I'm going to land so sometimes I end up fine and just land on some trees or bushes, but then other times I happen to land onto rocks or a mountain...which hurts quite a bit."

…

…

…

"You are _definitely _committed to your craft." Sondoa noted with a stunned expression.

"Geez, and I thought exploring abandoned buildings was cool…" Takumi deadpanned.

"I-It's not that big of a deal!" Nadia claimed. "I have yet to be in a coma for longer than two months."

"Still, a two month long coma is longer than most people have been in a coma…" Clara noted.

"I guess so…" Nadia nodded. "But, um, anyways, I think that's everything there is to know about myself...I'm sorry if it wasn't as interesting as you'd hoped!"

"Nah, it was pretty cool." I said. "Maybe you can jump out of my planes sometime."

Nadia smiled. "Y-Yes, that'd be fun!"

* * *

**?**

"Hey!"

…

…

…

"Wake up!"

…

…

…

"What's wrong with him?"

"I dunno, it looks like he's tied to something…"

"Why? Because he was the first one?"

"Not sure, but this is terrible...please, wake up!"

* * *

**Takahashi**

After a surprisingly decent breakfast with the people who I unfortunately have to call my friends, I decided to read a couple chapters of _Vintage Aeroplanes_, and then headed towards the dining room for a late lunch.

On my way, I took notice of a confrontation between an unlikely trio.

"You guys have to come tomorrow!" Takumi pleaded, looking at Norikazu and Kuro with his creepy ass puppy dog eyes.

"_Have_ to?" Norikazu repeated. "Unfortunately, Takumi, I don't have to come to anything for you. I am a free man capable of making my own decisions, and I have better things to do."

"The asshole's right." Kuro nodded, earning him a glare from Norikazu. "No way am I going to a lame ass brunch for some 5'5" leprechaun."

"Ok, now you're just being mean." Takumi frowned. "I'm trying to do something nice for everyone and you guys don't have the decency to come?"

"You seem to forget that Kuro nor I had anything to do with the set up for your party." Norikazu sighed. "As such, anything you do for us is unnecessary and unneeded."

"Fine…" Takumi sighed, shaking his head. "I can't force you guys to come if you don't want to…"

"The hell you can't." Kuro smirked.

Takumi rolled his eyes and brushed past me to get to his bedroom, with Norikazu separating from Kuro a few seconds after.

Wonder what that's about…

Kuro was still in the hallway, so I decided to ask.

"Hey," I called. "The hell's wrong with Takumi?"

"Tch, why don't you ask him?" Kuro coldly responded, not even bothering to look me in the eyes.

I balled up my fist. "I asked _you_. So answer or I'll punch you in the fucking face."

Kuro rolled his eyes. "Your threats don't scare me...but whatever. If you're really that interested, the little guy's throwing some sort of brunch tomorrow as a thanks for his party of something."

Tch, this guy's unbearably annoying, the only way to get through to him is by giving him a taste of his own medicine. He might not care about threats like being punched in the face, but he definitely cares about being injected with depiscocide if he doesn't listen to me.

"Ok…" I nodded. "That's all I wanted to know."

"Good, now can you leav-" Before Kuro could finish his sentence, he suddenly cursed and grabbed his head, presumably in pain.

"What's wrong with you?" I questioned with a raised brow.

"N-None of your business…" He sneered, starting to walk away from me. "Just leave me a-alone…"

He walked through the door leading to the dining room, muttering something to himself.

I frowned.

Weirdo…

* * *

**?**

…

…

…

Who's...there?

"He's awake!" A feminine voice cheered. "Phew, you scared us half to death, y'know!"

"Aw, don't be so hard on him." A masculine voice said. "He's been through a lot...for some reason."

It was still pretty dark so I couldn't see, but my eyes had adjusted slightly. I could make out two figures, sitting in front of me.

I felt even weaker than when I first woke up. The hell's wrong with me?!

My body was tingling with pain, and for some reason my hand was wet.

"Wha...what's wrong with me?" I asked, my voice hoarse and dry.

"We don't know…" The feminine voice sighed. "Sorry…"

"You've been here for more than a day, so maybe something happened to you then…" The masculine voice surmised. "But unfortunately it's so dark in here we can't figure out what it even was."

"Now that you're awake, we're going to try and do some looking around." The feminine voice revealed. "Hopefully we can find a way out of here."

Yes…

A way out…

Of…

* * *

**Takahashi**

After dinner, and the Night Time announcement, I sat in the dining room, reading the last few chapters of _Vintage Aeroplanes_.

I was alone, but I didn't care. Some time away from all of the overdramatic, annoying, whiny, and overbearing assholes here was fine with me.

Unfortunately for me, just as I was starting the next chapter in the book, about the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, the door from the announcement room creaked open, with **her **standing in the door way.

Her eyes widened upon seeing me. "Oh! I, um, didn't know anyone else was still awake…"

"Where have you been, **Satoko**?" I asked. "Find out if the others are alive yet?"

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "No...But, I'm not giving up just because you guys don't believe me."

I shrugged. "Suit yourself, I guess. Just don't be disappointed if your investigation turns out to be a complete waste of time."

Satoko glared at me. "It's not going to be." She then walked over to the plate I had in front of me, and picked it up.

"The hell are you doing?" I frowned. "The kitchen isn't open, y'know, so you can't put it to wash."

"I wasn't going to wash it…" She sighed. "I need it."

"...Fine." I said. "Do whatever you want with it."

She raised a brow. "You're not going to ask me what I need it for?"

"Nope." I answered. "I don't really care, do what you want with it."

"Ok…" She slowly nodded. "Well, good night."

Much to my surprise, instead of going through the door leading to our bedrooms, she went back to the door leading to the announcement room.

"What are you doing?" I spoke up. "You're not seriously thinking of investigating _again_, are you? It's 11 PM already."

She turned back towards me. "Yes, I am. No one ever accomplished anything but sitting around doing nothing."

I looked at her with a questionable expression, but once again shrugged. "If you really want to, then fine. Just…be careful."

She said nothing, but smiled and left.

That chick...she's either really determined to prove that she's right, or she's completely off her rocker. For her sake, I hope she finds something…

* * *

**?**

"No dice…" The masculine voice sighed. "I don't feel anything but walls."

"I _think _I felt an air vent or something, but we don't have anything to unscrew it with." The feminine voice said.

"_Or _any light to see where the screws even are." The masculine voice added. "No worries though! I'm sure we'll find a way out soon…"

I kept quiet, staring off into space. Not only was I still in pain, but I was unbearably hungry and thirsty, like I had been left on a deserted island for a week.

_If _I'm not already dead...I wonder if I'll die here.

* * *

_**Day 14 aboard the HFH Enterprise…**_

**Takahashi**

It's been about a week since the party…

Where Silver was killed by Ritsu.

_And _it's been about two days since Monokuma gave us his ultimatum...

Win the Traitor/Truce game _or _kill someone within the next week, or something happens to our loved ones.

It was all fucked up to say the least.

I wanted to punch the shit out of the stuffed dictator for making me feel like this, but I had to hold myself back, otherwise I'd get myself killed.

So far, people have been playing the Traitor/Truce game ruthlessly. Three people are already out.

As shitty of me as it might be to say, I'm hoping that people will continue to be eliminated. It was definitely better than the alternative of someone getting murdered.

…

Ichirou…

I wonder what you'd do if you were in this situation. Tch, you definitely could've been, if…

I shook my head. It's too early in the morning for this shit..

* * *

"I am simply taking advantage of the prize I rightfully won, what is wrong with that?"

I exited my room to find Leonia holding a laundry basket while having a discussion with an annoyed Hiiro.

"I've been given duty after duty by some of the others here, and now you want me to do your laundry?" Hiiro frowned. "Why don't you ask Kuro?"

"I would rather not deal with him." Leonia answered. "I figured you'd respect the fact that you lost and we won and would do my laundry with no problems, but…" She turned to me.

"Takahashi! Perhaps you would be willing to follow through with the prize _you _suggested." Leonia questioned, in a bit of a haughty tone.

She gestured towards her laundry basket. "The girls and I gathered some of the laundry that needs to be washed and are looking for a boy who would like to volunteer to do it."

I let out an annoyed sigh. "And Hiiro's too busy to do it?" I asked, glaring at the barista who did nothing but ignore me.

Leonia frowned. "Apparently so. So, would you please?" She held the laundry basket up to me.

Damn it...as much as it sucked to take orders from a photoshoot director or whatever the hell, I _was _the one to suggest the laundry prize in the first place.

I slowly took the laundry basket and nodded. "Sure, whatever. Just don't get annoyed if it takes awhile, a load this size will take some time."

Leonia nodded. "Thank you. And not a problem, we're in no hurry."

She shook her head at Hiiro and walked off.

Hiiro frowned. "I would've said yes to washing her clothes, but I have a number of people who've requested that I watch them while they swim. Apparently Mari booked you to go swimming with her around 2."

"No she didn't…" I protested. "I mean, she didn't tell me anything about it."

Hiiro shrugged. "If you two don't show up, then I'm not waiting for you. Be there early."

He followed Leonia to the dining room.

Tch, what's his problem with me? I mean, sure, he makes coffee for all of us, I made him the lifeguard, and I made him carry the infirmary key, but damn, he needs to lighten up.

I glanced down at the laundry basket. The girls had only given me their shirts and bottoms to wash.

"Damn it!"

* * *

**?**

"How long has it been now?" Masculine voice said, the energy gone from his voice.

"I dunno…" Feminine voice answered a few seconds later. "...It feels like forever though…"

At this point my mouth felt like sandpaper, and it hurt to talk. I could do nothing but stare into the dark.

It was so quiet, like all the sound in the world was gone forever.

Until…

* * *

**Takahashi**

Doing laundry actually wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I was left alone by myself, and got the chance to continue reading _Vintage Aeroplanes_.

Every so often I'd go into the kitchen to grab a snack, but would always return to the laundry room to be in peaceful solidarity.

The rumble of the dryer was also a pretty nice background noise, it reminded me of the sound of a plan-

It stopped.

"Shit…" I groaned. There goes my excuse for staying in here by myself…

I sighed, taking the clothes out of the dryer.

Everything was nice and clean…

Except for one pair of swim suit bottoms.

"What the hell…" I muttered. I had noticed them before because they were tangled in with a shirt, but now I could see there were small stains of something dotted across them. It looked bright orange.

I don't have a sister or anything, but I'm smart enough to know this isn't blood. The weird thing was, none of the other clothes were stained, just the swim suit bottoms.

I shrugged. Not my problem; I know for a fact that I did my laundry exactly how I was supposed to.

I wasted more time by folding everything and separating it based on who it belonged to, and left the basket on top of the dryer as per Leonia's request.

That went better than I thought.

Still...I wonder how much time has passed...

"_I would've said yes to washing her clothes, but I have a number of people who've requested that I watch them while they swim. Apparently Mari __**booked you to go swimming with her around 2**__."_

Oops…

* * *

**?**

…

…

…

The silence was suddenly interrupted by a voice. It sounded faraway, and I wasn't sure if I was imagining it or not.

"Guys! Can you hear me? I know you're in there! Don't worry, I'm going to get help!"

"...Huh?" The masculine voice said. "Who's there?"

"Is somebody there?!" The feminine voice frantically asked. "Please, help us!"

"...I can't understand you!" The mysterious voice said. "But don't worry, I'm going to get help, just wa-"

The voice stopped, and I heard some sort of loud _BANG _noise, followed by a yell.

…

…

…

I wonder what happened…

Unfortunately, I didn't really have the energy to care...

I felt drained...and totally hopeless. And so damn thirsty…

* * *

**Takahashi**

I entered the dining room on my way to the pool. Inside, I was greeted with an unexpected crowd.

"Hey, Takahashi!" Takumi grinned, running over to me. "Glad you could make it!"

Oh shit, that's right. His 'thank you brunch' thing is today.

I looked around to see who was in attendance. It looked like half of everyone was there, with Kuro, Norikazu, Isami, Koko, Hiiro, Jack, Satoko and Mari missing.

"You didn't have to do this, y'know." I told Takumi. "You got injected with poison, we just planned a party."

Takumi shook his head. "Still, you guys went out of your way. Even you forgot how much of an asshole you are and did something nice!"

"You little shit…" I frowned, my face turning red. But I took a deep breath and relaxed. I shook my head. "You're the worst."

"You know you love me." Takumi smirked.

I rolled my eyes and brushed past him. Everyone looked like they were having a pretty good time, but I couldn't stay and chat, I'm pretty sure I was already late to my pool appointment with Mari (even though I still have no idea why she booked it without telling me).

I made my way into the announcement room.

* * *

To my surprise, Mari was standing by one of the Traitor/Truce voting booths, wearing her revealing bikini, and with her hair strangely wet.

"What're you doing?" I asked, walking up to her.

She jumped and turned around, her face frowning upon seeing me. "_There_ you are! I've been waiting here for almost an hour for you!"

"Why?" I questioned. "You could've just swam without me."

"No I couldn't have." Mari sighed, rolling her eyes. "Two organisms have to be in the pool at all times, remember?"

"But your hair's already wet." I frowned. "Doesn't that mean you already went swimming?"

"Yeah, at like 1:00." She replied. "I invited that Clara girl to go swimming with me for half an hour."

"But why though?" I questioned. "I thought you hated her for trying to kill me. Why are you all of a sudden inviting her everywhere?"

Mari smirked. "You know the saying, don't you? Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. It's not like I was alone with her or anything, Hiiro was there the entire time."

I sighed. "Ok, whatever…Let's go to this 'pool appointment' you never told me about and that we're already late for."

"I thought it would be a nice surprise for you!" Mari glared. "And it is _so _not my fault that we're late." She added, sauntering towards the stairs.

I followed, annoyed by her attitude but satisfied with the view as the two of us walked up the stairs.

* * *

"I'm literally so nice to you, and you're a dick to me." Mari complained as she continued her trek towards the pool.

"Oh, please," I frowned. "You're a bitch to everyone, including me. You just pick and choose what personality you want to be for the day."

Mari gasped. "So not true, and _so _rude!"

She grabbed the handle of the pool room and stopped, turning towards me. "Y'know, I prepared such a nice surprise for you, but now I don't know if you even deserve it."

"Fine then, I guess I'll leave." I shrugged.

"_Fine_." Mari glared. "Go."

I was about to do just that, until I remembered…

Tch...being a 'better person' sucks.

"Just open the door already." I sighed. "...And thank you for taking the time to surprise me…" I added in a hushed tone.

Mari smirked. "My pleasure."

She slowly opened the door and the two of us stepped inside.

* * *

…

…

…

What…

No way…

This isn't…

This can't be real.

Mari has a surprise for me…

But it's not this…

Right?

I'm just imagining this!

I'm…

I'm imagining Satoko floating…

Floating at the top of the pool…

Her clothes still on.

And…

And her expression blank.

…

Because…

Because **Satoko Kiyomizu**…

The **Ultimate Prodigy**…

Is **dead**.

"AHHHHHH!"

* * *

**?**

"A body has been discovered! Please gather in the pool room ASAP!"

…

…

…

**The lights switched on**.

In front of me, Akumu and Fran were sitting, against a wall, their faces pale and bags under their eyes.

The room we were in was a medium size, with two doors, and an air vent, nothing else. It looked strange, the floor and the walls were both made of wood, and looked nothing like the rest of the ship.

I myself was seated against a wall opposite from one of the doors, a chain wrapped around my leg, tied to a stake in the ground next to me.

My hand was bloody, with a single cut on it…

I was hungry and thirsty, and felt like a train wreck, but none of that mattered right now.

**Somebody was murdered**, and I'm getting out of here to find out who did it, no matter what.

* * *

_A/N_: **Thank you guys for reading! I just want to say thank you so much to NSPunny for creating and submitting Satoko Kiyomizu. She is a character I loved to write and I'm definitely sad to see her go so soon :( **

**Who do you guys think did it? Any theories? Anyone is a suspect, so theorize away!**

**See you guys in the next one!**


	21. Heaven With You (Part 6)

Heaven With You (Part 6) (_**Deadly Life**_)

* * *

"_Who're you again?" I asked, eyeing the little girl standing in front of me. _

"_Yeah, what's your name?" Cotton, who was standing next to me, smiled. _

_The girl looked up at us and blushed. "Oh, um, my codename is __**Rose**__. I'm known as the __**Ultimate Prodigy**__. It's nice to meet you!"_

"_Prodigy?" I repeated. "You look 10."_

"_Sunrise!" Cotton frowned, glaring at me. _

_Rose crossed her arms and pouted. "First of all, I am __**not **__10, I'm 14. Second of all, just because I'm young doesn't mean I'm not intelligent. In fact, I probably know a lot more than you and the boy standing next to you combined."_

"_The hell you say?!" I frowned. "I'm the Ultimate fucking Pilot, I'm 10 times smarter than some 14 year old girl."_

"_Haha, no no, she's right." Cotton grinned. "Listen to this, Rose. Sunrise here didn't even know what an escape room was until I explained it to him!"_

"_Shut up, liar!" I yelled. "I said I didn't know who you__were, not what an escape room was."_

"_Sure, sure, keep on lying in front of Rose." Cotton giggled. _

_I could tell Rose was still mad over my comment about her age, but I noticed she was smiling as she watched the two of us argue. Tch, yet another know-it-all asshole I'm going to have to deal with…_

Satoko.

I know we were never friends.

And I was always kind of an asshole to you...

But…

You didn't deserve this.

You were just 14 fucking years old...

What fucked up monster kills a girl who barely got to experience life?

I don't know...but I'm going to figure it out.

The asshole who killed you is going to pay.

"AHHHHHH!" Mari screamed. I almost felt like doing the same.

"What the fuck…" I muttered. My stomach felt sick at the sight: Satoko laying face up, fully dressed in the pool, a very faint red tint surrounding her.

Strangely, there was also something else in the pool, too small for me to see from where I was. Lastly, a few rose petals were scattered along the surface of the pool. My guess is Mari had something to do with them, as apart of her little date plan.

"A body has been discovered! Please gather in the pool room ASAP!"

Mari jumped at the sound of Monokuma's voice, but quickly regained her composure and cleared her throat. "So...Satoko is the one dead this time around." She remarked, doing her best to not look frightened. "How unfortunate for her…"

"Yeah, it's sick." I commented. "Someone beyond fucked up must've done this…"

Just looking at the crime scene already told me this wasn't going to be as easy as last time. Something felt off, like there were several factors involved, all adding up to the sight in front of Mari and I.

I had little time to think, however, as people started to pour into the pool room.

"AH!" Koko squealed. She came in with Hiiro, who also looked pretty shocked.

"S-Satoko?" He said, his eyes wide. "But...you were but a child…"

Koko's eyes were brimming with tears. "Oh no…"

A majority of the others came in next, their reactions about the same.

"No way!" Takumi gasped. "This can't be happening, not again!"

"Satoko…" Clara sniffed. "You were always so nice to everyone…"

"An intelligent young girl who would've made a great addition to the team comprising the HFH Enterprise **official **bank..." Sonoda sighed. "It's a shame to see someone as talented as her go."

"N-No…" Nadia cried. "Why was she the one…"

"How awful…" Leonia remarked. "She didn't deserve this, not at all…"

Isami didn't say anything, but frowned and shook her head at the sight of Satoko's body, probably disappointed that another killing occurred.

"This can't be happening…" Evelyn sobbed. "So many people...gone just like that!"

"What's going on here?" Said a voice from the back. "There's too many people, I can't get inside. Sorry for being late, I was in my room."

Oh shit.

I almost forgot about **him**.

He's going to take this the hardest…

Slowly but surely, he pushed his way through the crowd of people in order to see what was in the pool.

He didn't scream or yell, but his face grew pale, and his eye twitched. His breath halted, and he tightly clenched his right fist.

"Who…" He started, his voice low. "_**Who did this**_?!"

Silence, of course. Satoko's killer is trying to get away with murder; they're not just going to reveal themselves like that.

**Jack** turned away from Satoko's body and looked at the floor. "Whoever did this: You're sick. A monster who deserves what's coming to them in the trial...Satoko was the last person in here who deserved this."

No one dared look the card dealer in the eyes, and instead stood in silence. The guy was kinda right. Satoko was the youngest and one of the nicest ones in here, so why did the killer target her?

I should be glad that people aren't going after the assholes in here, I'd probably be one of the first ones to bite the dust if that was the case.

We all had little time to think and recover from the shock of discovering Satoko's corpse due to the arrival of a certain 3 foot tall dickhead.

"Hey, ya bastards! It's been awhile, I missed all of your smiling faces!" Monokuma remarked. He then looked at each and every one of us. "Huh, what's the matter with you guys? You all look like you just stumbled upon the corpse of a 14 year old girl who wouldn't harm a fly!"

He then turned to Satoko's body. "AHHH!" He screamed. "Don't tell me, is that the body of a 14 year old girl who wouldn't harm a fly?!"

"Stop playing around." Leonia frowned. "We all know you already know she was murdered. You even know the culprit, isn't that right?"

Monokuma giggled. "_Maybeee_! That's for me to know and you to find out in the investigation and class trial!"

He pulled out a familiar tablet. "Now, who's ready for the ever popular and helpful **Monokuma File**?!"

He threw it to me and just like last time, everyone quickly crowded around to read what it had to say.

_The victim is __**Satoko Kiyomizu**__. The body was discovered in the __**pool room**__. _

_Her head seems to be __**bleeding**__, causing a faint red tint to surround her body. She also seems to be surrounded by __**maggots **__and __**rose petals**__._

Maggots, huh...So that's the weird small stuff surrounding her.

But wait a second...this doesn't help me out at all!

"Hey, the time of death isn't listed!" Takumi pointed out.

Yup, the little shit's right. Last time the Monokuma File told us when Silver died, which wasn't really that helpful.

This time, however, a time of death would have definitely been helpful, but none is listed. Damn it, Monokuma…

Along with that…

"And it doesn't say how she died." Norikazu commented. "Just that her head is bleeding."

"So is that how she died?" Sonoda questioned. "Or just a wound?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out in the investigation and class trial!" Monokuma repeated.

I rolled my eyes. "Can we just get this investigation started already?"

"Hey, not so fast!" Monokuma shook his head. "I have a surprise for you all!"

"_Another _surprise?" Hiiro frowned. "So far the only one of your surprises this week that hasn't been terrible is giving us the prize from Silver."

"Yes, that was nice to have." Koko agreed. "But everything else has been awful...the Traitor/Truce game, what happens to the eliminated in the game...Whatever this next surprise is, I don't think any one of us want to hear it."

"Are you _sureee_?" Monokuma asked in a suspicious tone. "**I promise**, you'll all _love _this one!"

"Doubtful…" Leonia said quietly. "But you are going to give it to us anyways, aren't you? Out with it already."

"I don't have to tell you," Monokuma said. "Just turn around and see!"

We all did so, and saw nothing…

…

…

…

"Uh, give it a few seconds." Monokuma awkwardly added.

…

…

…

Huh? I hear footsteps…

True to his word, a sight that definitely surprised all of us appeared.

"No way…" Norikazu said, his usual calm expression replaced with one of complete and utter shock.

"How is this possible?!" Leonia questioned, her eyes wide and her mouth agape.

"Is this real?" Mari said in surprise.

In front of us, looking like they've been through hell, were three ghosts.

**Seizo**, **Fran**, and **Akumu**.

* * *

**Seizo**

_Earlier that day…_

"What is this thing?" I groaned, trying my hardest to pull my leg off of the chain tied to the stake. "Why am I being chained like some kind of animal when you two are free to walk around?"

"Who knows?" Fran sighed, continuing her attempt on opening one of the doors. "Maybe Monokuma gave you the harshest punishment because you were the first eliminated?"

"That's what I was thinking." Akumu agreed, continuing his attempt at opening the other door in the room. "But don't worry Seizo, we'll get you out of there once we get one of these doors open."

"Come to think of it, I thought you guys said you didn't feel any door knobs or anything." I brought up. "But now there's suddenly two doors?"

"That is pretty weird." Fran nodded. "We might've just missed them, we were pretty out of it from whatever happened to us, plus it was so dark you could barely see a thing."

"True…" I said. "I wonder why there's _two _doors, though."

"Hopefully one is the exit." Fran nervously chuckled.

"Yes, that would be nice." Akumu agreed with a similar chuckle.

I felt totally helpless sitting there all chained up, but hey, what else was I supposed to do?

I thought about how someone on the outside is dead…

As shitty as it was, it was kind of inevitable. Monokuma gave us the ultimatum threatening our families, and someone was bound to snap. The Traitor/Truce game was taking too long, so someone got impatient and killed…

I just want to get out of here already! Find out who was murdered and bring justice to them, but I've been stuck here for days, completely useless…

_**Knock, knock**_

"Gah!" Fran yelped, jumping back in surprise. Someone (or something) was knocking on the door. "Um, hello?"

"_Hellooo_," A familiar voice answered.

Slowly and creepily, the door creaked open, to reveal everyone's favorite abomination, staring at us with an evilly gleeful expression as he observed our misery. "Wow, wow, wow! You guys really let yourselves go!"

"You." Fran glared, crossing her arms and shaking her head disapprovingly at the bear. "Have you finally come to let us out of here?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Monokuma replied. "I haven't decided yet...I was thinking of flipping a coin to make my decision easier!"

"Oh, shut up, Monokuma." I frowned. "Just unchain this thing from my leg already."

"Yeah, he hasn't been able to move in days." Akumu sighed. "Pretty cruel if you ask me."

"Well, that's not my fault!" Monokuma protested. "If Mr. Morine had been better behaved, then he could have been free to roam like the rest of you guys."

"What do you mean better behaved?!" I asked exasperatedly. "I didn't do anything! You chained me up and stabbed my hand for no reason! Not to mention the fact that I'm starving and on the verge of dehydration…"

"Ever so dramatic," Monokuma said dismissively, looking unusually annoyed at me. "Anyways, fine, fine, fine…"

He wobbled on over to me and pulled out a key, unlocking the chain from off of me.

"Finally…" I muttered, sighing in relief. I moved my leg around ever so slightly; it was incredibly tingly due to not being able to move around for so long.

"Now then, I have far more important things to do than deal with you three!" Monokuma huffed. "Regroup and meet me in the pool room A-S-A-P!"

And with that, the bear disappeared right before our eyes, just like he always does.

I frowned. "What a dick! 'Better behaved'? What could he possibly mean by that..?"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much," Akumu said, walking over to me. "He's probably just messing with you like he always does."

"Akumu's right." Fran nodded, also walking over to me. "The important thing is is that we can finally get out of this place."

The two of them slowly helped me to my feet, and after a few seconds, I was able to walk relatively fine on my own.

"Phew, that's a relief…" I smiled.

"Still...I can't help but wonder what's in that room." Fran frowned, pointing to the other door in the room.

"It's probably nothing." Akumu theorized. "Maybe an extra door to give us hope that there's a way out of this room?"

"Maybe…" I slowly nodded, though I wasn't so sure. Something about that room was weird, I almost felt as if we were being watched. "Anyways, let's go guys, I'm sure the others will be glad to see us."

"Satoko!" Akumu beamed. "I bet she's worried sick! Seeing all three of us alive again will surely put a smile on her face!"

"And Evelyn!" Fran added. "It hurt so much to see her in distress, I can't wait to see her again!"

I sadly smiled. "Yes, it'll be nice to reunite with everyone...it just sucks that we're doing so under these circumstances."

"True…" Akumu sighed. "Someone was murdered…"

"You don't think it's Evelyn, do you?" Fran asked in a worried tone.

"Let's go find out." I replied. "We can't sit here forever…"

* * *

The three of us made our way towards the pool room. Even though we were all perfectly capable of walking, exhaustion, hunger, thirst, and pain made us weak and slow. We could _see _the pool room, but it was like a trek around a track to reach it, the finish line.

After what seemed like forever, we reached it! The door was ajar, and we could hear commotion.

I suddenly felt sick.

Walking into the room, I was going to see the corpse of one of my friends. Additionally, I was going to be flooded with emotions on finally getting to see the rest of my classmates.

I took a deep breath, and walked in.

…

…

…

No…

No fucking way…

_NO_!

Through the crowd of people, all staring at Fran, Akumu, and I, it was difficult to see, but I'd recognize that outfit anywhere…

Satoko...

Why did you have to leave us so soon? I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye...you didn't even get to find out that Akumu was alive!

My eyes watered, and a couple of tears fell from them. I swear I'll find out who did this to you, if it's the last thing I ever do.

Next to me, Akumu was speechless. His eyes were wide and his lip was trembling. It was the most down I ever saw the cryptid enthusiast, my heart stung thinking about what he must be feeling right now, as Satoko was both of our close friend.

Fran was also visibly shaken, but less than the two of us. She looked quite sad. "Satoko...I'm so sorry…"

Unfortunately for the three of us, we weren't really given the proper chance to grieve and deal with Satoko's death, as voices started yelling one right after the other.

"Seizo! Fran! Akumu!" Takumi gasped. "How is this possible?!"

"We saw you die!" Koko continued. "I mean, I'm so happy you're alive, but we saw you die! This all feels so strange…We just lost one of our own but gained three of our own back…yay?"

"No fucking way…" Takahashi chuckled, shaking his head. "Y'know what, somehow I'm not surprised that D-Lister is still kicking. Tch, I'm _still _the leader though, asshole." He added with a glare.

"Ah, my most loyal customers!" Sonoda smiled. "You _do _remember you owe me 100 Monocoins each, _right_?"

"You three are alive…" Hiiro commented with wide eyes. " I am...glad to see you." He continued with a blush.

One by one everyone expressed their amazement, shock, and indifference to us being alive and well. The most emotional reunion was between a certain translator and archaeologist…

Evelyn pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Her eyes looked dull, as if she hadn't been getting much sleep. "F-Fran?"

"Eve!" Fran smiled. She dashed towards Evelyn and wrapped her arms around her in an embrace.

"I can't believe you're still alive…" Evelyn said with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," Fran sadly frowned. "I can't imagine the pain you must have gone through…"

Evelyn shook her head and pulled away, smiling. "It doesn't matter now! You're here and everything's a million times better!"

"Except for the fact that there's a dead body in the pool…" Sonoda muttered, cringing at the display of affection.

"Ok, ok, enough with the hugging," Monokuma interrupted. "I've seen wayyy too many teenage rom coms to know where this is going!"

"R-Rom coms?" Fran blushed. "Like a _romance _comedy?"

"Hehe, why not?" Evelyn giggled. "I think we make a pretty good pair!"

Fran blushed once again, narrowing her eyes.

"Now then, everyone is here, so let's start the investigation!" Monokuma announced.

Everyone's here?

No, that's not right…

"Where's **Shiro/Kuro**?" I asked.

The boy was noticeably absent. If Shiro was in control, I'm sure he would be standing next to Isami and Norikazu, but he isn't. On the other hand, if Kuro was in control, then his big mouth would've made him noticeable…

"Yes, I haven't seen him all day…" Isami commented, looking in her notebook.

"I wonder where he could be." Clara frowned. "I hope he's alright."

"Eh, if Kuro's in control I'm fine with him _not _being alright." Sonoda shrugged.

"Don't be a fool." Leonia frowned. "If Kuro gets hurt, that means Shiro does too."

"Exactly, and considering Shiro has done nothing wrong, he doesn't deserve that." Norikazu agreed.

"Now then, everyone is here, so let's start the investigation!" Monokuma announced.

"Hey!" I called. "Are you just going to ignore us? Where's Shiro or Kuro, he should be here!"

"Now then, everyone is here, so let's start the investigation!" Monokuma announced.

"M-Monokuma! You can't seriously be doing this…" I sighed.

"Now then, everyone is here, so let's start the investigation!" Monokuma announced.

…

…

…

I kept my mouth shut.

_**INVESTIGATION START**_

After a few more tearful reunions and looking at the Monokuma File, we were ready to start the investigation.

As always, Taka directed everyone else as to where he wanted them to investigate.

"OK, that's everyone." He said.

"What about me?" I frowned, looking around. I was the only one still without a place to investigate.

"You're with me." He announced without even bothering to look me in the eye. "We're going to be investigating Satoko's body."

"Oh, uh, ok…" I muttered. It was pretty strange that Taka would want me to be within 6 feet of him, but it was fine with me. As much as I hated to admit it, the guy was smart, and a pretty decent leader. Plus, seeing as I was MIA for a couple of days, I needed to get up to speed as to what's been going on.

The two of us walked over to Satoko's body, with Taka leading the way. Because it was in the pool and we were currently wearing normal clothing, we obviously couldn't get very close, but it was pretty easy to see everything that was going on from where we were standing.

"Maggots and rose petals?" I frowned. "That's an odd combination."

"The rose petals are from Mari." Taka revealed. "Some sort of date idea she had...but the maggots...what the hell?"

**Truth Bullet: Rose Petals, obtained!**

**Truth Bullet: Maggots, obtained! **

The maggots obviously came from the killer, who got them from the infirmary. I have absolutely no clue why'd they place them with Satoko, though…

"It's pretty clear that Satoko didn't drown." I surmised. "The Monokuma File wouldn't omit something so obvious."

"Yeah. There's also the fact that she has a head wound and is surrounded by red-tinted water." Taka added.

**Truth Bullet: Drowning, obtained!**

**Truth Bullet: Head Wound, obtained!**

"Damn it, that's it…" Taka cursed. "Tch, this was useless, everything we just found out was already in the Monokuma file."

Ugh, he's right...The head wound, maggots, and rose-

Wait a minute…

Maggots.

Rose petals.

Believe it or not, these two have something in common!

"Hey, Taka, do you remember the rule that Monokuma made about the pool? About how someone could never swim alone?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" He questioned in a skeptical tone.

"He said something about how there could never just be one **organism** in the pool. He never specified what organism it had to be!" I said.

"True…" Taka nodded. "Satoko is obviously an organism since she's a human. The maggots are some type of animal, and the rose petals are plants."

"Exactly. If Mari added the rose petals, the killer must've obviously added the maggots in order to bypass the no swimming alone rule." I explained.

"Huh. That's probably right…" Taka nodded. "But something doesn't add up…" He added in a hushed tone, curiously looking at Satoko's corpse.

**Truth Bullet: Pool Rule, obtained!**

"What do you mea-"

Before I could finish, a certain daredevil interrupted my question to Taka. "I'm sorry for bothering you guys, but I just thought you'd want to see this."

She led us over to what she was investigating: the anti-gravity machines.

"I thought everything looked alright, but look at this." She then pointed to one of the machines, which had a slight dent in it. "Monokuma told me these things were made with some super strong material, so this isn't some accidental dent from running into it or anything..."

"Meaning someone pushed someone else into it…" I surmised.

"Enough force and this thing could knock you out cold." Taka commented, tapping on the anti-gravity machine. "From there, they could easily push you into the pool, leaving you to bleed out."

"How awful…" Nadia sniffed, starting to tear up.

**Truth Bullet: Dented Anti-Gravity Machine, obtained!**

"Hey, relax." Taka advised, putting a hand on the Russian's shoulder. "It didn't happen to you, so you're fine."

"H-hey," I nervously chuckled. "Probably not the best response, Taka…"

"Thank you." Nadia unexpectedly replied. "You are right, I am alive and well, I shouldn't spend my time crying and worrying about myself, I need to be strong and help Satoko however I can!"

"Exactly." Taka smirked, flashing me a condescending grin. Gross.

After talking with Nadia, Taka and I made our way over to the bleachers so Taka could yell at Sonoda and Mari, who were sitting down not doing anything to contribute to the investigation.

"Are you two fucking stupid? Did you not hear me when I gave out orders to investigate?" Taka frowned. "I should call Monokuma right now on your asses to inject you with Despiscocide."

"Oh please, give me a break." Mari scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I just discovered my second dead body in a week! I need time to myself y'know, a little meditation so I don't get PTSD or anything."

"Yes, and I am here to help her." Sonoda claimed. "You know what they say, two meditators are better than one!"

Yeah, I'm pretty sure nobody says that…

Taka rolled his eyes. "Whatever...since the two of you aren't doing shit, you're going to answer some questions for me. Starting with Mari. What the hell was this whole date thing about? You know damn well I have better things to do than hang out with a self absorbed model like you."

"What do you mean?" Mari frowned. "I was just being nice and thought it'd be romantic to have a date in the pool. I set out the rose petals a little while after I went swimming with Clara, and waited for you in the announcement room, but _you _were late."

**Truth Bullet: Mari's Date Plan, obtained**

"Swimming with Clara?!" I repeated in shock.

"Yeah, swimming with Clara...what time was that?" Taka inquired.

"Around 1." Mari answered. "We only swam for about half an hour though, then Clara left to go to Takumi's party thing around 1:30. I swam by myself for a little while, but then Hiiro complained about wanting to go spend some time with Koko before his next appointment, with me and you at 2:00."

"So Satoko wasn't killed until after 1:30 when you finished swimming with Clara." I commented.

"Yes, exactly." Mari nodded. "Oh, and something else. For some reason, **Kuro **was watching me and Clara swim...literally until I left with Hiiro, he was _still _there, the creep...luckily, when I went to put the rose petals in the pool around 1:45, he wasn't there anymore."

"I wonder if anyone else saw Kuro after that…" I whispered. "If not, then that means the last time he was seen was at 1:30. Now it's around 2:40, and he's still missing…"

"Who cares about that guy?" Mari sneered. "He's the embodiment of Satan, I'm glad he's missing…"

**Truth Bullet: Mari's Account, obtained!**

**Truth Bullet: Missing Kuro, obtained!**

"And what about you, Sonoda?" Taka asked. "I saw you at Takumi's party. Were you there the whole time?"

"No, actually." Sonoda answered. "I was in a playful mood today. From 12:00 to 1:40, I was playing a VR game with Nadia, Hiiro, Koko, Takumi, Jack, **Kuro**, and **Satoko**. I stayed till 1:40 with Nadia, which is when I showed up to Takumi's party, but everyone else left around 1:00."

I could feel my eyes start to tear up again. So Satoko was playing a video game just hours before her death…

"I should probably mention that Satoko did not look very happy playing the game with all of us." Sonoda revealed. "She almost looked like she just wanted to get out of there ASAP, like she was in a rush or something."

"Duly noted." I nodded.

**Truth Bullet: Sonoda's Account, obtained!**

**Truth Bullet: Takumi's Special Brunch, obtained!**

We left the two alone to do their 'meditating'...

Taka led me over to Koko and Hiiro, who were investigating a bag by the lifeguard chair.

"What's that?" I asked as we walked up to them.

"My bag." Hiiro answered. "I have many important things in it, including my secret recipe for a caramel espresso macchiato frappuccino latte and the infirmary key...I left it here after going to visit Koko for a little while, thinking no one would mess with it, but alas…"

He pulled out a key from one of the front pockets.

…

…

…

"I don't see the problem." Taka admitted. "That's the infirmary key, right? Good, you still have it."

"No, you don't understand." Hiro sighed. "I put the infirmary key in the main pocket of this bag, not the front pocket."

"So someone moved it?" I asked. "But why? What's the point?"

"I'm sure there's an explanation, we just need to find out in the class trial." Koko said confidently. "Hopefully then it'll lead us to the killer!"

**Truth Bullet: Infirmary Key, obtained! **

"Hiiro, what were you up to for the past hour? Mari and I were supposed to have an appointment with you at 2:00 but we didn't show up until 2:40, and you weren't anywhere to be found." Taka brought up.

"I checked in here at 2:00, and when you guys didn't show up by 2:05, I went back to the game room to be with Koko." Hiiro answered.

"You only gave them five minutes?" I deadpanned.

"Yes." Hiiro answered bluntly. "I told Mari before that she could find me in the game room if she happened to be late, after all."

"Hiiro and I played the most intense game of chess ever!" Koko beamed. "If only we got to finish, I definitely would have won!"

"Sure…" Hiiro muttered.

**Truth Bullet: Hiiro's Account, obtained!**

**Truth Bullet: Koko's Account, obtained!**

We left Hiiro and Koko to investigate the mysterious contents of Hiiro's bag.

"Now what?" I asked Takahashi. "There's nothing else in here, right?"

"No, there's not." Taka answered. "Which is why you're going to investigate the other rooms on this floor."

"The way you're talking sounds like I'm going to be investigating on my own…" I chuckled nervously.

"You are." Taka clarified. "I need to stay here and make sure that no one messes with Satoko's corpse like Ritsu did to Silver."

I sighed. "Ok, ok...Just let me know where to go first."

* * *

Taka directed me to investigate the gym, since Norikazu was currently investigating there by himself.

When I walked in, I was surprised to see the gym empty.

"What the hell…" I frowned. "Norikazu is supposed to be here…"

"Norikazu?" I called out.

No response.

Looking around the gym once again, I noticed a couple of strange things. Norikazu wasn't the only one missing from here.

On the wall above the bleachers is supposed to be the stop clock, which records the time a piece of equipment is used.

Only for some reason, it's missing…

**Truth Bullet: Missing Stop Clock, obtained!**

Not only that, but the gym floor is also missing something.

On the ground is supposed to be the three bases that Takahashi drew on the floor for our game of kickball.

But, for some reason, there's only two.

**Truth Bullet: Missing Base, obtained!**

That's all for the main part of the gym, everything else looks pretty normal to me.

I made my way to the sports equipment room to check if anything was out of the ordinary.

At first glance, it _looked _normal, just a little messy from when we were rummaging around to find a kickball the other day.

However, upon closer inspection. I noticed two strange things: A broken plate and the fact that the air vent is open.

"That's weird…" I commented. What's a broken plate from the dining hall doing here?

**Truth Bullet: Broken Plate, obtained!**

I walked over to the vent cover, lifting it up from the floor.

It was one of those vent covers with the slots, all designed to be slightly diagonal. It's not supposed to be able to be opened: there's no screws or anything to take it off from the wall.

"I guess with enough force," I started, trying to tug on one of the slots. "You try and pry it open."

But I didn't think that was the case either; my fingers and anybody else's were too big to fit into one of the slots in order to get a good grip on it to pry it open.

So how the hell did someone open this?!

I shook my head and sighed, looking into the vent.

There's a reason this is open...I need to check to see where this vent leads to.

Sweat started to form on my forehead, and my heart was beating a mile a minute. I hated tight spaces, especially air ducts that I had no idea where they lead to.

But, this was for Satoko! Can't let my fears get the best of me now…

I crawled in, trying to ignore my anxiety plus the fact that I was putting pressure on my wounded hand.

It actually wasn't that bad, the light from the equipment room did a good job at illuminating the path.

It took me about two minutes to scale the whole thing.

When I got to where the air duct lead to, I almost jumped out of my skin.

"**Norikazu**!" I yelled. "What are you doing here?!"

The artist was blocking my path, examining an air vent cover, pushing on it to get it open.

"Isn't it obvious?" He questioned. "I'm trying to see which room this air vent leads to."

"So that's why you weren't in the gym," I surmised. "You also saw the open air vent and went to investigate."

"Precisely." He nodded, still trying to get the vent cover off. "The only issue is, I can't get this vent cover off...The light in whatever room this is is on, but I don't recognize it at all."

"You don't recognize it?" I repeated. "Here, let me get a look at it."

It was awkward and uncomfortable, but he scooted as far as he could to give me some room. I squeezed in next to him, and peered into the room.

I instantly recognized it.

"This room…" I started. "It's the room where Akumu, Fran, and I were being held."

Norikazu looked at me in surprise. "Really? This whole time we had a direct path to you all?"

"I guess so." I sighed. "Either way, this path from the equipment room to this room is clearly important, someone broke off the vent cover after all."

"But was it the killer," Norikazu said. "Or someone else?"

**Truth Bullet: Secret Path from Equipment Room to Captive's Room, obtained!**

With nowhere else to investigate, me and Norikazu made our way back through the air duct to the equipment room.

"Ok, that's it for the gym." I declared, smiling confidently.

"Yes, it seems nothing of grave importance was in here." Norikazu said. "Just things that don't really make sense."

"You're right," I nodded. "Hopefully everything will make sense in the class trial, though."

"Hopefully." Norikazu repeated. "If not, then I don't see us-"

He stopped himself mid sentence, peering at something behind me. "That's not the same color it was before…"

"Hm?" I questioned.

"Look, at this." Norikazu pointed to the pile of baseball bats carelessly stacked on one of the shelves.

…

…

…

"I don't see anything…" I awkwardly laughed.

Norikazu sighed, pushing past me and walking up to the shelf. He picked up a baseball bat and showed it to me.

It was pretty faint, but noticeable upon closer inspection. The entirety of the baseball bat was covered in small, bright orange spots.

It was otherwise spotless, with no dust or anything, just those weird faint bright orange spots.

"No wonder you spotted this," I said. "An illustrator like you probably notices the smallest difference in color, right?"

Norikazu nodded. "Yes. Additionally, I can tell you that this isn't paint. I'm not sure what it is, but it's nothing that was painted on. In fact, it appears that the original paint of the bat has been damaged."

**Truth Bullet: Damaged Baseball Bat, obtained!**

So, a missing stop clock, a missing base, a broken vent cover, and a damaged bat…

What the hell do all of these things have to do with Satoko's murder?!

* * *

I left the gym confused and craving a lemonade.

I resisted however, and made my way to the next room of interest: the infirmary.

Monokuma had left it unlocked for the sake of the investigation.

Inside, I found Leonia, Clara, Takumi, and Akumu.

The former three were messing around with the cabinets, looking to see if anything was missing or out of place, while a dejected Akumu sat on the foot of one of the beds, staring off into space.

I approached the group first, hoping to find out that they found something of importance.

"Pain killers, allergy medication, and motion sickness relief. They really have it all here, huh?" Takumi beamed, pulling out bottle after bottle.

"Takumi, if you keep pulling out bottles, we'll have more to put away." Clara sighed, watching the escapist gleefully continue to make a mess.

"I've never heard of these medications before," Leonia admitted, examining a pill bottle. "Hm, they must be generic."

"Hey guys," I called, walking up to them. "Anything of importance here?"

"I'm afraid not," Leonia sighed. "So far, everything looks untouched and just as we left it during the initial investigation. Well, aside from Takumi's mess…"

"It's not surprising, right?" Clara asked. "I can't see the killer using anything in here to help them with the murder."

"That's where you're wrong, Clara! Take a look at this, it was hidden in the back!" Takumi suddenly yelled. We all turned to him, to see him holding up a nearly empty bottle.

"What is this?" Leonia asked, taking the bottle from him. "...Senza-Sangue?"

"I have no idea what this is." Clara admitted. "It almost sounds Italian."

"Maybe it's a medicine from Italy?" Takumi suggested. "Either way, it's clearly important if it's nearly empty."

**Truth Bullet: Empty Bottle of Senza-Sangue, obtained!**

"That's it, huh?" I sighed. "I was hoping to find something more…"

"Well the more evidence we find, the more complicated the case will be to solve." Takumi claimed. "It's like an escape room; the more puzzles there are, the longer it takes to escape."

"True." Leonia nodded. "Well then, shall we make our way to the next room?"

"Wait!"

We all turned around to see Akumu.

He was kneeling in front of the air vent, which unlike the one in the sports equipment room, had screws on its cover. The cryptid enthusiast had pulled a screwdriver out of nowhere, and was working on getting it open.

"I want to see where this leads to," Akumu said. "It could be important, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "The killer might've used it in some way. But Akumu, are you sure you're up to investigating? You know you can take as much time as you need to grieve, right?"

Akumu shook his head and sadly smiled. "I'm fine, Seizo, but thank you. Satoko wouldn't want me to mope around all day; she'd want me to help solve her murder."

"That's the spirit," Takumi cheered. "Come on, let's see what's in here!"

Akumu finished getting the vent cover off, and one by one, we all crawled in.

"Ouch!"

"Please don't look up my skirt, Takumi."

"Hey, I would never do that!"

"Guys, it's a little hard to see in here because it's so dark, sorry if I'm a little slow!"

"No worries, Az, I'm right behind you."

After a few minutes, we finally arrived at the adjoining air vent.

Being in the front, Clara described what she saw.

"Chairs...tables...oh! This is the game room!" Clara exclaimed.

"Interesting…" Leonia noted. "The game room and the infirmary are quite far from each other, this air duct is unusually long. Nonetheless, it's definitely something important we should remember."

**Truth Bullet: Secret Path from Infirmary to Game Room **

We all turned around and crawled our way back to the infirmary.

Once back on our feet, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Nice, we found something else. Alright, onto the next ro-"

A familiar chime rang out, one that made my heart stop.

"Okey dokey, folks, I think that's enough investigating for now. I'm getting tired of waiting, so it's time for the long-awaited **class trial**!"

"Damn it…" I sighed. "Times up."

"I'm sure we found enough evidence." Clara said confidently. "We just have to piece everything together."

"This'll be a piece of cake." Takumi smiled. "We've already solved one murder, so another one should be just as easy!"

"I'm sure we can do this if we work together." Leonia nodded. "We'll avenge Satoko, no matter what it takes."

"Let's do this, Seizo." Akumu beamed, looking up at me. "We'll find out what happened to Satoko, for sure!"

Although I was still hungry, thirsty, and in pain, it made my heart happy to see everyone so confident, especially for solving the murder of someone we all cared about so much.

"We got thi-"

Just like last time, I couldn't finish my words before my eyes started to droop, exhaustion seeped into every bone of my body, and I collapsed to the floor.

* * *

"I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that…" I muttered as I awoke.

Everyone was already awake, standing in front of the door leading to the elevator.

"At last, it's time to solve the murder of the childhood prodigy," Sonoda commented. "Gone far too soon…"

"She didn't deserve what happened to her, not one bit." Fran said truthfully. "Whoever killed her will pay for their crime!"

"We'll find out who they are," Evelyn nodded. "They can't hide forever! Nadie está por encima de la ley!"

"Only a monster could do something so terrible." Norikazu frowned. "A monster and a coward."

"...Satoko was a nice girl." Isami said, writing in her journal. "I wonder why the killer decided she should be the one to go."

"Yeah, I was thinking about why they did it." Clara agreed. "Was it for the motive or something else?"

"Win the traitor/truce, or murder someone, and your most important person is safe." Nadia recalled. "Wasn't that the killer's motive?"

"We'll see." Hiiro sighed. "Either way, we have quite the complicated case ahead of us."

"Red tinted water, a moved infirmary key, and a dented anti-gravity machine…" Koko said. "What do they have in common?"

"Maggots, roses, and an empty bottle of Italian medicine." Leonia continued. "Even more mysteries…"

"Whatever, I'm sure you guys got this." Mari smirked, flipping her hair. "Meanwhile I'll focus on rooting out the killer while you guys discuss the evidence."

"Right…" Takumi awkwardly laughed. "Even though you were dead set on it being Clara last time…"

"I just can't imagine anyone here to be the killer…" Akumu admitted. "It feels...off."

"But it's the only answer." Jack said, speaking up for the first time in awhile. "One of us took Satoko's life, robbed her of a future. This class trial is going to be brutal, but nothing compared to what Satoko went through, so be ready."

The absence of Kuro was still something concerning to me, but I guess everyone already forgot about the asshole.

Still...how is Monokuma just going to let his absence slide? I thought we _all _had to be present for the class trial.

I looked at everyone, observing. Some looked confident, others looked nervous.

Only one had a face that I couldn't read.

Takahashi was completely emotionless. He wasn't in his loudmouth mood _or _his leader mood.

He almost looked...bothered?

I didn't know what was wrong with him, and I didn't have any time to think.

The red door clicked open, as did the elevator.

"Here goes nothing…" I sighed.

We silently stepped into the elevator.

It was noticeably a lot less difficult to squeeze in…

With both Ritsu and Satoko gone, as well as Kuro being MIA, it was a whole lot more like a regular elevator rather than a sardine can.

I glanced downwards, looking at the cut on my hand.

Traitor/Truce, being eliminated, Satoko's death...this week has been hell.

God, I want to get out of this place so bad.

But as miserable as I was, Silver, Ritsu, and Satoko were in a hell of a lot more pain. They died in a place they didn't know, without having any idea where they were.

For them, I'll push forward…

Mari pushed the button leading up to the trial room, and we all braced ourselves.

Here goes nothing…

* * *

_A/N_: **:MonokumaSweat: Sorry this one took so long! **

**At last, the investigation of Satoko's murder. A lot of evidence is introduced this time around, and several factors are involved in this case...can you tell who the killer is or are you totally clueless?**

**This trial is going to be a wild one, with plenty of information to digest. Hope you're ready!**

**See you guys in the next one, hopefully soon!**


	22. Heaven With You (Part 7)

Heaven With You (Part 7) (_**Deadly Life**_)

* * *

**Truth Bullets**

**Monokuma File**: The victim is Satoko Kiyomizu. The body was discovered in the pool room.

Her head seems to be bleeding, causing a faint red tint to surround her body. She also seems to be surrounded by maggots and rose petals.

**Rose Petals**: It's not what you think; the rose petals weren't placed around Satoko's body because of her former codename, Rose. They were placed by Mari to 'set the mood' for her and Takahashi's date.

**Maggots**: Someone, most likely the killer, placed maggots around Satoko's body.

**Drowning**: Satoko's cause of death most likely wasn't drowning, as she was lying face up when her body was found.

**Head Wound**: Satoko has a head wound on the back of her head.

**Pool Rule**: If you want to be in the pool, more than **one** organism **must **be with you. Otherwise you're breaking the rules!

**Dented Anti-Gravity Machine**: One of the anti-gravity machines, which helps keep the water in the pool, is dented. It's clear that it was done on purpose.

**Mari's Date Plan**: Mari planned a date for her and Takahashi to go swimming in the pool. They were supposed to report to the pool room promptly, by 2:05, but Takahashi was late and the two didn't get there until 2:40.

**Missing Kuro**: Kuro is missing, no one has seen him since around 2:00. What happened to him…?

**Sonoda's Account**: Sonoda, Nadia, Hiiro, Koko, Takumi, Jack, Kuro, and Satoko all played a game together in the VR room. Everyone besides him and Nadia left around 1:00 to attend Takumi's special brunch, with Sonoda and Nadia staying until 1:40. Apparently, while Satoko was playing, she was unhappy and looked like she was in a rush.

**Takumi's Special Brunch**: Takumi threw a special brunch attended by a majority of the captives, as thanks for throwing him a party the week before.

**Infirmary Key**: Apparently, someone moved the infirmary key belonging to Hiiro from the main pocket of his bag to one of the front pockets.

**Hiiro's Account**: Hiiro left the pool room at 2:05 since Mari and Takahashi failed to show up.

**Koko's Account**: Hiiro and Koko were together from 2:05 until the discovery of Satoko's corpse, playing a game of chess in the game room.

**Missing Stop Clock**: The stop clock, which records the time when a piece of equipment is used in the gym is nowhere to be found.

**Missing Base**: Takahashi drew three bases on the gym floor for kickball. One of them is missing.

**Broken Plate**: A broken plate from the dining room is on the floor of the equipment room, in front of the air vent, which was somehow opened.

**Secret Path from Equipment Room to Captive's Room**: One can go from the equipment room to the room containing the eliminated Traitor/Truce players, or vice versa, via an air vent.

**Damaged Baseball Bat**: One of the baseball bats in the equipment room seems to be damaged; bright orange spots are scattered across it.

**Empty Bottle of Senza-Sangue**: An empty bottle of something called Senza-Sangue was found in one of the medicine cabinets in the infirmary.

**Secret Path from Infirmary to Game Room**: One can go from the infirmary to the game room, or vice versa, via an air vent.

Just like last time, the doors of the elevator slowly creaked open, revealing the all too familiar trial grounds.

This time, it was decorated a little differently. The walls now looked like shoji screens, with red paint splattered on them to replace the wall with red stripes from last time. The floor was made of wood and looked like it had been through a lot, with holes and scratches all over it.

Strangely, Monokuma was not yet sitting in his chair.

"This looks awful." Leonia complained with a frown. "What happened to the nice setting of the 'hotel' from before?"

"As distasteful as this place is, it would still make for a great drawing…" Norikazu noted, examining the scratches on the floor in great detail.

"Does what our trial location look like really matter?" Taka sighed, walking right up to his stand without a care in the world. "Just take your spots and wait for the bear to show up." He demanded.

We did just that, a few more reluctantly than others. My stomach was already in knots at this point, and I felt dizzy, like I could pass out at any second. But I took a deep breath and steadied myself.

Akumu walked up to me. "Hey, I just wanted to check up on you. You don't look like you're doing so good, is everything ok?"

"Ok is a bit of a stretch," I nervously chuckled. "But I'll be fine. Nobody wants to be in this situation, but hey, we're here…"

"Very true." Akumu sadly smiled. "I wish Satoko was still here with us, but we gotta keep pushing on for her, ya know?"

I nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Knowing her she wouldn't want us to cry or mourn her death for long; she'd want us to move past what happened and continue investigating the truth of the killing game and looking for a way out."

"Exactly!" Akumu beamed, looking more like the boy I met on our first day here. "It's just like my grandparents used to say; you'll never get anywhere in life without a few bumps in the road!"

"They sound like nice people, and quite realistic too." I complimented him. Now I know where Akumu gets his optimistic nature from.

"They are," Akumu nodded, looking up at the ceiling as if in reflection. "They took me in after my dad died and my mom became a workaholic. They're also what got me into investigating cryptids in the first place. We all used to go exploring together in the woods, it was so fun! Of course now that they're a little older, I usually go out by myself."

"Which then lead you to become the Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast." I summarized with a smile.

"That's right," Akumu said. "Anyways, I just wanted to make sure you're doing ok. You're our ace detective, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," I laughed. "Whatever you say." Seriously, how did I become the lead investigator?! I'm just an actor!

Akumu then unexpectedly came closer to me, and gave me a hug. It felt just like the first time he hugged me, but this time a little more comforting and less awkward. He pulled back and flashed a bright smile. "You're gonna do great!"

He walked over to his trial stand and I smiled. This'll be a piece of cake, just like Akumu said. I took one more deep breath, completely calming myself down.

You'll be fine, Seizo, just relax…

I took a moment to look around to see how my classmates were doing.

In doing so, I also caught sight of the portraits that were now in front of Ritsu and Satoko's stands.

Ritsu's smiling face was covered with a thin, shiny, bloody red 'X', made to look like laser beams.

Satoko's was covered with a very neat and perfectly symmetrical 'X', most likely symbolizing her 'perfect' talent of being a prodigy.

Besides that, everything else looked relatively normal…

With the only exception being nothing was in front of Shiro/Kuro's stand. No picture, no Shiro/Kuro, no nothing. The guy really was missing after all.

"Maybe it's not a bad thing that Kuro's MIA," Takumi thought aloud. "All he does is cause trouble in the trials. Now we can all focus without him interfering!"

"That's actually kinda true…" Sonoda commented. "With Kuro being the egotistical asshole who argues about everything, and Shiro, no offense, being no help at all, you'll all be able to focus on the trial more."

"Don't you mean 'we'll'?" Fran frowned, crossing her arms.

"Um, yes, yes, of course…" Sonoda awkwardly chuckled.

"Although Shiro may not be the most talkative and helpful person here, it's unfair to celebrate his absence…" Isami chastised, looking quite bothered. I almost forgot, she's one of Shiro's closest friends here; she has every right to be upset. "We don't know what's happened to him, so instead of being relieved that he's not here we should be concerned with his safety…"

"I agree." I said. "Besides, Shiro/Kuro being here would also make this investigation a lot easier. We have no idea if he has an alibi or saw something important since we weren't able to talk to him to get his account of the day."

"I just don't know where he could possibly be," Evelyn sighed. "Fran and I searched _everywhere_ during the investigation! Well, besides his room, but Monokuma made a point of telling us that no one could hide in their room during an investigation.

Everywhere huh? Can that really be true when…

"Gah! You bastards are going to drive me to drink!" Monokuma interrupted our discussion of Shiro/Kuro's whereabouts, finally making his appearance.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Taka asked.

"Many things, actually!" Monokuma answered. "For one, my favorite TV show ended on a cliffhanger and the studio still hasn't resumed filming and production!"

"And this concerns us how?" Norikazu questioned.

"_And_, that pesky **occultist**! I had to pull him for a chat to discuss why he's abstaining from the investigation and trial, and it took a solid 10 minutes to get a coherent answer! Anyways, since he's technically not **breaking any rules**, I let it slide."

"Wait a minute, Shiro/Kuro's alive and you know where he is?!" I asked with wide eyes. Everyone had a similar reaction.

"Yes-siree!" Monokuma nodded. "I know exactly where he is. It is a _little _annoying that he's not here, but, again, since he's not breaking the **Culprit Attendance **rule, it's A-ok!"

"Culprit attendance rule?" Nadia repeated in a hushed voice.

"I've never heard of that before." Mari frowned. "Are you just making up rules now?"

"Nope!" Monokuma claimed. "It's apart of my 'unofficial official rules', such as how many people are required to discover a body before the body discovery announcement plays, not being injected with any of my _fabulous _drugs if your poor wittle self is injured or incapacitated, what punishment is given for breaking a rule, and the Culprit Attendance rule, which states that the culprit, if able, must be in attendance of the trial!"

"So what you're saying is Shiro/Kuro is innocent and one of us is the killer?" Akumu asked for clarification.

"Upupupu, I dunno, Mr. Tsubasa, _is _that what I'm saying?" Monokuma evily giggled.

"Wait a minute…doesn't that mean all of us innocent people can just not participate in the trial and when the culprit is the only one who's missing because they're required to be at the trial, we could just figure out who the culprit is?" Evelyn theorized, tapping a finger on her trial stand.

"I'm curious as to how that would work, though, seeing as how we are _all _drugged and brought to the room before the elevator." Hiiro brought up.

"Well if that happened we could all just stay in the room before the elevator." Evelyn suggested. "The killer would then be the only one forced to board, and we'd know who they were!"

"Come to think of it, why didn't Shiro/Kuro wake up in the room with us?" Fran asked.

"Grrrr…" Monokuma did not look happy in the slightest. "I swear, you kids ruin everything! Fine, from here on out, **everyone **must be present at a trial! You guys won't play any loopholes with me!"

"Ugh, this sucks!" Takumi groaned. "We almost managed to outsmart him for once."

"We _did _outsmart him." Leonia claimed. "He just changed the rules to fit his own benefit."

"Cut this charade already," I turned to look in the direction where the voice came from. Jack was standing up straight, his arms crossed and his eyes staring daggers at Monokuma. "Let's start this trial, once and for all."

"So soon?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head. "I thought we'd talk more!"

"No one in here _actually _wants to talk with you," Mari scoffed. "We're here to find the killer and get out of this creepy place, so get on with it!"

"We've lost three people in this place already." Norikazu commented, looking at the portraits of Silver, Ritsu, and Satoko. "Losing another will be difficult, but it is necessary."

"Y'know, the killer might not even make it to their execution," Takahashi laughed dryly. "Jacky Boy over here will probably pummel them to death before then."

"Why would someone kill Satoko?" Nadia sniffed. "She was so nice to everyone and did nothing wrong…"

"Whatever their reasons are doesn't excuse what they did," Fran said as a-matter-of-factly. "As cruel as it may be, we have to avenge Satoko!"

"These trials are oh so stressful," Evelyn sighed. "But it's nothing compared to the pain Satoko is in."

"Geez, geez, fine!" Monokuma sighed. "Let's begin the class trial!"

I took a deep breath.

Alright, it's time.

We'll analyze the evidence we found and find the killer!

It'll be tougher than last time, that's for sure, especially since one of our own is missing, but still…

We have to do this!

Not only for Satoko, but for our own lives as well!

If we don't find the killer, they'll get away and we'll all die here, before we've figured out the purpose of this killing game…

There's no way I'm going to let that happen!

_**TRIAL START!**_

"Now then, a simple explanation of the class trial," Monokuma started. "Argue your hearts out and vote for who you think the killer is ! Your votes will determine the results of the trial. If you can figure out 'whodunnit' then _only they _will receive punishment. But if you pick the_ wrong one_... then I'll punish everyone **besides** the blackened, and they'll be given the right to return back home to Earth!"

"No more Savior Perk this time." Leonia noted.

"Good," Sonoda sighed. "That means the killer was definitely working solo."

"Exactly, you stand nothing to gain if you help the killer since only they'll be able to escape in the end." Takumi nodded.

"So, where do we start?" Clara nervously asked. "I feel like there's so much information to cover...how do we even begin to analyze it all?"

"I feel like we should figure out how Satoko was killed," Jack answered, taking charge. "We still don't know what the murder weapon was or what did her in in the end."

"Ok, that's a good start." I nodded. "Let's start the discussion,"

_**Non-Stop Argument **_

"The murder weapon," Hiiro repeated, rubbing his chin in thought. "It could be so many things…"

"Like maybe** a knife**?" Koko suggested.

"Or** a hammer**!" Akumu continued.

"Maybe even **something else that was heavy**, like **a chair**?" Sonoda theorized.

"You idiots," Mari frowned. "Satoko obviously** drowned**! The weapon was** the pool she was in**!"

"But how does that explain the** pool of blood** around her…?" Isami questioned, tilting her head. "...I think it was **something unorthodox**, and she was killed in a manner we aren't thinking of…"

"Like what?" Takumi asked. "It could be **anything**!"

"Gah, this is hopeless…" Nadia moped.

_**Truth Bullet: Dented Anti-Gravity Machine, FIRED!**_

"I agree with that!"

"...The truth can't be tinkered…"

_**BREAK!**_

"That's right, Isami." I nodded. "The murder weapon wasn't something any of us would expect."

"Hm?" Isami turned towards me. "...I was right?"

"Are you telling me she didn't think she'd be right?" Clara deadpanned.

"Talk about a lack of confidence…" Fran sighed.

"I'm not 100% certain of course, but I think the murder weapon could've been the dented anti-gravity machine!" I said. "Me and Takahashi were investigating, and we found a dent in one of them."

"Huh?" Koko asked with her eyes wide. "Seizo, you can't honestly think that the killer picked up the anti-gravity machine and used it as a weapon to hurt Satoko!"

"Yeah, you'd have to have some Godzilla level strength to do that." Akumu nodded.

"Not to mention the fact that all of us here have been unable to exercise or improve our strength given the lack of a real gym with real work out equipment." Hiiro continued. "So none of us are at full strength."

"What a stupid theory, Seizo, I'm thoroughly disappointed." Mari sighed, shaking her head at me.

C'mon seriously?!

"You guys, I'm not saying the killer picked it up and bonked her on the head with it," I sighed. "What Takahashi and I were thinking that the killer pushed her into it."

"Oh, like what happens in movies sometimes where the two people are in an argument and one person accidentally pushes someone else really hard into a wall and they die?" Takumi asked for clarification.

"Yeah actually!" I nodded. "Y'know that reminds me of a movie I did with-"

"No one cares." Takahashi interrupted. "Anyways, that is basically what Seizo and I were thinking. Satoko is a small and no offense, weak, girl. It would be easy for any of us to grab her and push her head into one of the anti-gravity machines, and with enough force, it could definitely be a fatal blow."

"How gruesome." Evelyn frowned. "But it is definitely a possibility that we should keep in mind."

Gruesome...

Huh.

Yeah, it would be…

"Ok, so it could've been the anti-gravity machine." Evelyn surmised. "But I don't think the murder weapon matters if we can't pin point who could've done it!"

"Very true," Fran agreed with a sigh. "At the end of the day we need to figure out who the killer is."

"Alright," Hiiro nodded. "Then what about alibis? Everyone needs to share where they were during the estimated time of the murder, a little after 2:05, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, since you were in the pool room until 2:05, and Satoko obviously wasn't in there, then she must've been murdered sometime after."

"So if we can figure out who doesn't have an alibi for after 2:05, we can narrow down the list of suspects!" Koko said excitedly.

"Exactly." I said. "The only problem is that we don't have an exact time for when she was killed…"

"Tch, that doesn't matter," Takahashi claimed. "C'mon, use that big ass head of yours, there's a few people who couldn't possibly be the killer."

A few people who couldn't be the killer? That means they would all be able to provide an alibi for each other…

_**Question: What could've given a group of people an alibi for each other?**_

**Truth Bullet: Takumi's Special Brunch, fired!**

"Haha, got it in one take!"

"Oh, Takumi's special brunch!" I realized. "A number of you guys were in attendance right, and you all were together since before 2:05 to the time the body was discovered!"

"Yup!" Takumi nodded. "The party itself started around 1:00."

"So who all was there?" I asked.

"I got this one…" Takahashi answered. "You were missing in action so you wouldn't know. I finished up the girls' laundry and saw Takumi, Leonia, Nadia, Evelyn, Sonoda, and Clara at the party. That means that Shiro/Kuro, Jack, Norikazu, Isami, Koko, Hiiro, and Mari are the ones without alibis."

"Hey, what about you?" Sonoda questioned. "I don't recall seeing you there."

"I was there for just a minute." Takahashi replied. "Takumi saw me. Like I said before, I was busy doing the girls' laundry up until then."

Leonia nodded. "Yes, I asked him to do so myself."

"So what about the people without alibis?" Clara inquired. "Do you have anything to prove you couldn't have done it?"

"Isami and I were together." Norikazu answered. "In the rec center. I was sketching and she was tinkering with something."

Isami nodded. "Yes, I wrote about it in my journal. I've been trying to make my e-Handbook capable of contacting a nearby satellite station…"

"Upupu, good luck with that!" Monokuma cackled. "Not even the Ultimate Inventor would be able to do such a thing!"

"_Anyway_, that's two of our alibis down." Norikazu said confidently. "Koko and Hiiro what have you got to say for yourselves?"

"Ah, Seizo knows this one!" Koko smiled.

Huh, I do?

"Yes, we gave him our alibi during the investigation." Hiiro agreed.

Oh, that's right!

This one's easy.

_**Question: What is Hiiro and Koko's alibi?**_

**Truth Bullet: Koko's Account, fired!**

"Koko and Hiiro were playing chess in the game room." I explained. "From the time Mari and Hiiro left the pool room together, the two were in the game room, far from the scene of the crime."

"So both of them have an airtight alibi." Leonia surmised. "Who's next?"

"Me." Mari finished, looking none too pleased. "Ugh, so annoying. Now all of you guys think I'm the killer just because I was by myself during the time the murder was committed…"

"Not necessarily." I answered. "Just tell us where you were."

"Exactly, then we can sort out if you're guilty or not." Evelyn nodded. "Though from previous experience it wouldn't be that surprising if you were…" Mari glared at the translator in response.

"Yeah, you did kind of vote for me to be eliminated despite knowing what happened to Seizo," Akumu awkwardly chuckled.

"Hey, no talking about Traitor/Truce!" Mari quickly said. "That's reserved only for when we're playing the game."

Evelyn rolled her eyes. "Someone isn't a fan of being confronted about being a terrible person…" I heard her mutter. Thankfully, Mari didn't seem to hear.

"I was in the announcement room during the time of the murder." Mari claimed. "I must've been in there for nearly an hour, waiting for Takahashi to get to the pool room."

"Um, can I ask why?" Nadia questioned.

"We had a date." Mari answered with a smirk. "Something a number of you will _never _be able to get…"

"Ugh, to think I was just starting to tolerate you." Fran sighed, shaking her head at Mari.

"Enough nonsense." Jack demanded, looking as serious as ever. "Seizo, are Mari's claims true or not?"

Why is it my job to figure this out?!

"Uh, I'm not sure." I answered, scratching my head. "But, there's only one way to find out, right?"

_**Non-Stop Argument**_

"Mari was on a date with Takahashi?" Takumi said. "Is that really her alibi?"

"We weren't _on _a date." Takahashi sighed. "We were just going to go **swimming together**."

"Is swimming key word for** something else**?" Sonoda smirked.

"How **distasteful**…" Leonia frowned.

"Of course not!" Mari quickly refuted, angrily slamming her fist on her trial stand. "This isn't some sort of **special chapter**, you know!"

"Mari could have definitely killed Satoko." Evelyn theorized. "After all, Takahashi wasn't with her until later right? So she could've just been **lying about being in the announcement room**."

"Yeah, she **didn't know when Takahashi would show up**, after all!" Takumi said excitedly. "Nice, we're finally getting somewhere!"

"Is this really true, M-Mari?" Nadia sniffed.

"Obviously not!" Mari answered. "**I'm innocent**!"

"If you're lying, I _will _find out." Jack ominously stated.

_**Truth Bullet: Mari's Date Plan, FIRED!**_

"No, that's wrong!"

_**BREAK!**_

"You're not completely on the wrong track," I started. "But you're not necessarily on the right one either, Takumi."

"Huh?" Takumi tilted his head. "Where did I go wrong? I'm usually always on the right track…"

"Well, you're right in the fact that Mari didn't know the exact time Takahashi would show up to the pool room. However, she had a pretty good estimate." I explained.

_"Yeah, swimming with Clara...what time was that?" Taka inquired._

_"Around 1." Mari answered. "We only swam for about half an hour though, then Clara left to go to Takumi's party thing around 1:30.__** I swam by myself for a little while, but then Hiiro complained about wanting to go spend some time with Koko before his next appointment, with me and you at 2:00**__."_

_"So Satoko wasn't killed until after 1:30 when you finished swimming with Clara." I commented._

_"Yes, exactly." Mari nodded. "Oh, and something else. For some reason,__** Kuro **__was watching me and Clara swim...literally until I left with Hiiro, he was still there, the creep...luckily, __**when I went to put the rose petals in the pool around 1:45**__, he wasn't there anymore."_

"Mari and Takahashi's date was scheduled to be around 2:00, before Satoko's murder." I said. "Any normal person would want to be on time for their own date, and expect the other person to do the same. In the end, we know that Takahashi did in fact end up being late, but Mari had no way of knowing that at the time. For her to commit a murder during a time when her date could show up at any second is way too risky."

"Additionally," I started. "The last time Mari was in the pool room was at 1:45 when she put the roses in the pool, no doubt about it. After all, there's proof Mari wasn't in the pool room, plotting Satoko's murder."

_"Hiiro, what were you up to for the past hour? Mari and I were supposed to have an appointment with you at 2:00 but we didn't show up until 2:40, and you weren't anywhere to be found." Taka brought up._

_"I checked in here at 2:00, and when you guys didn't show up by 2:05, I went back to the game room to be with Koko." Hiiro answered._

_"You only gave them five minutes?" I deadpanned._

_"Yes." Hiiro answered bluntly. "I told Mari before that she could find me in the game room if she happened to be late, after all."_

"Yes, that's right." Hiiro nodded. "Takahashi and Mari weren't in the pool room at 2:05, so I just left. She knew where to find me once her and Taka were ready to go swimming."

"I'm confused about something." Akumu admitted. "Mari, why weren't you waiting in the pool room? You said you were in the announcement room, right, but why?"

Mari blushed. "Well, um, I just wanted to be there when Taka was walking up to the pool room."

"Is that right?" Leonia inquired, curiously looking at Mari's unusually flushed expression.

"Yeah," Mari nodded. "Plus we could grab Hiiro from the game room on the way to go swimming."

"Uh, what?" Taka spoke up. "That's a lie."

"What do you mean 'that's a lie'?" Mari frowned.

"You know damn well we didn't grab Hiiro from the game room." Taka explained. "You didn't even say anything about doing that."

"I forgot!" Mari quickly said. "We were already so late that it just slipped my mind."

"Yeah, yeah," Taka waved his hand dismissively. "Stop with the lies already, just explain yourself and maybe people won't be suspicious of you anymore."

"Aw, Takahashi is actually caring about Mari for once!" Fran beamed. "He didn't even curse at her!"

"Hopefully he can make her a better woman." Evelyn giggled.

"Shut the hell up!" Takahashi yelled. He took his sunglasses off the collar of his shirt and quickly put them on. Hehe, someone's flustered.

"Fine." Mari sighed. "The announcement room is known for something, right?"

"The room where Monokuma gives announcements?" Nadia asked.

"The room where I almost met my end?" Takumi sniffed.

"The room where Silver _actually _met his end?" Clara sighed.

"No, no, and _no__**.**_" Mari frowned. "Whatever, I'll explain for you peasants. The **Traitor/Truce game**. I wanted to look into the voting booths we use."

"For what reason?" Norikazu questioned. "I can't imagine that they'd offer up any important information."

"Maybe not something important," Isami started. "But definitely something that'd come in handy if she knew it in advance…"

"Ah…" Leonia slowly nodded. "So that's what you were up to, Mari…"

"What is it?" Koko asked.

"Tell them, Seizo." Taka said, peering at me through his sunglasses. "It's obvious so you should know, unless you're the dumbass everyone thinks you are."

Gee, thanks…

This is pretty easy.

_**Question: Why did Mari want to investigate the voting booths?**_

_She was looking for some Long Island iced tea_

_She wanted to see how they work_

_**She wanted to see who was partnered up with each other**_

"Haha, got it in one take!"

_**Answer: She wanted to see who was partnered up with each other**_

"I don't know exactly the reason why, but you wanted to see what the match-ups for the next round of Traitor/Truce were, didn't you, Mari?" I questioned.

Mari narrowed her eyes. "Yes. I wanted to mostly find out who I was up against."

"I kind of understand it…" Isami admitted. "Knowing who you're up against beforehand could give you more time to decide whether to choose to 'spare' or 'eliminate'."

"Isn't that cheating though?" Koko frowned. "Even if it's not, I feel like it's wrong. None of us have ever looked at the voting booths before a round has started."

"Because I'm the only person to think of doing so." Mari smirked, flipping her hair.

"Well, did you ever find out who you're up against?" Leonia questioned.

Mari frowned. "Ugh, the stupid display things weren't even on. Talk about inconvenient…"

"Correct!" Monokuma giggled. "The display for Traitor/Truce will not turn on until the announcement of the next round is made!"

"So I wasted all that time in the announcement room for nothing?!" Mari angrily asked.

"Well, it wasn't for nothing," I said. "After all, now you have an alibi."

"So the only ones in the group without alibis...without an alibi is…" Isami started, looking in her notebook.

"Jack." Norikazu answered. "Where were you during the murder?"

Jack didn't look phased at Norikazu basically accusing him of being the only one capable of murdering Satoko.

"Like I said before, I was in my room." Jack answered. "I know it's not a solid alibi but it's the truth."

"Ooo, wait, I know how to prove he's innocent!" Takumi spoke up.

"O-oh! Yes, that's right!" Nadia nodded. "A number of us played a game together in the VR room, and afterwards we went to the party."

Takumi smiled. "Here, I'll explain everything in the form of a dramatic flashback!"

"_That was fun, guys!" Takumi smiled, taking off his VR headset. "Who's ready for some brunch?"_

"_Sorry Takumi, but I can't until later." Clara sadly frowned. "Mari invited me to go swimming with her for a while, but I promise it'll be quick."_

"_And I have to supervise them." Hiiro sighed._

"_I'll also be showing up later." Sonoda announced. "I'd like to try out this tycoon game, I wonder if the money you get in game can transfer to be Monocoins…"_

"_There's another racing game?!" Nadia said excitedly. "I have to try this!"_

"_Tch, you all are so boring, you guys just kept dying over and over again." Kuro complained. _

"_It's not our fault you're crazy good at being the killer." Clara frowned. _

"_Whatever," He sighed. "I'm out of here." _

_The occultist walked out of the VR room. _

"_I'll go with you, Takumi." Koko smiled. "I'm going to go to the game room around 1:30 though to play chess with Hiiro." _

"_Satoko, what do you want to do?" Jack questioned, looking at his friend. _

_She shook her head. "I, um, have to go and do something." She quickly responded. "Sorry…"_

"_Oh well, that's fine." Jack nodded. "That VR game kind of gave me a headache...I'm going to spend some time at the brunch for a little while but then go to my room to rest."_

_With that, they all went their separate ways. As we walked into the hall, Takumi noticed Satoko hurry towards the gym, with Clara and Hiiro following after her on their way to the pool room. _

_Koko, Jack, and Takumi all went down the stairs. _

_Leonia, Evelyn, and Norikazu were all waiting for them in the dining room, setting things up. _

"_Norikazu!" Takumi greeted happily. "You made it after all."_

_Norikazu sighed. "I'm only staying for a little while, I'm going to spend some time with Isami."_

"_No worries!" Takumi smiled. "Let's have a fun time everyone!"_

_Some time passed, and Jack, Koko, and Norikazu announced their departures._

"_Thank you for the food and entertainment." Norikazu bowed. "It was actually quite enjoyable."_

"_You're loosening up quite a bit around us, Nori." Takumi beamed. _

_Norikazu blushed and quickly walked out of the dining room. _

"_Thank you for everything." Jack said, also bowing. "My head is killing me, I wish I could stay for longer."_

"_No worries." Takumi reassured. "Go rest and maybe you can come back a little later."_

_Jack nodded and headed to his room. _

"_Here comes trouble," Koko giggled as she headed into the announcement room. _

_At the same time of her leaving, Sonoda, Nadia, and Clara made their way inside the dining room. _

"_Alright, now it's a party!" Takumi laughed. "Let's have some fun!"_

"Ah, I see now." I nodded. "So those with alibis for the time of the murder weren't the only ones at the party."

"Yup." Takumi said. "Jack, Koko, and Norikazu were also there, they just left before Satoko was killed."

"And you guys saw Jack go to his room and not come out, which is why you think he's innocent." Akumu surmised.

"Sounds pretty solid to me." Fran nodded. "But then that means…"

"Everyone has an alibi…" I nervously said. "Which means what? Satoko killed herself?"

"Impossible, there's no way she could slam her own head on the anti-gravity machine, then drag herself all the way to the pool...right?" Evelyn scratched her head.

"Well, if you don't hit your head hard enough to knock you out then you could walk around afterwards relatively fine." Leonia revealed. "But then that'd throw our anti-gravity machine being the murder weapon theory out of the window…"

"Are we stuck?" Akumu sighed. "I don't know if it's the exhaustion, starvation, or dehydration talking, but I can't think of anything…"

"Same here." Fran nodded. "My heads scrambled...if everyone has an alibi, then who is the killer? Are two people working together and lying about their alibis?"

Two people working together, huh?

Two people…

Huh...I might have something.

"Spit it out, Seizo," Takahashi sighed. "It's obvious by now, right?"

I gulped. "I, uh, think so…"

"Then don't keep us waiting, D-Lister." He demanded.

Ok, fine, fine…

I don't think there's two people who're working together, but two people who gave alibis for each other...one of them could be the killer.

_**Non-Stop Argument**_

"Someone is **lying about their alibi**?" Nadia nervously asked. "**H-how terrible**…"

"Well, it **isn't me**!" Sonoda said confidently. "Even though we were playing **different games**, **Nadia** and I could still hear each other while we were playing in the VR room."

"Like I said before, Isami and I were **together**." Norikazu recalled. "**It can't be either of us**."

"And then **everyone at the party is clear** of course." Takumi nodded.

"It **can't be me or Hiiro **either!" Koko claimed. "Remember, we played chess."

"So who is it?" Clara tiredly asked. "I feel like we're going in circles…"

"Satoko might've **killed herself**." Mari shrugged. "It's cruel but it could be what happened…"

"Don't even joke about that." Jack frowned. "She'd never do that!"

_**Truth Bullet: Hiiro's Account, FIRED!**_

"No, that's wrong!"

_**BREAK!**_

"I'm not accusing you guys," I sighed. "But, there is a way either of you could've killed Satoko."

"How so?" Hiiro questioned. He didn't seem mad, just a little annoyed as per usual.

"Yeah, I told you, we were playing chess." Koko sadly frowned.

"Well, as Hiiro mentioned, he had to leave your game a little before 2:00 for Mari and Taka's date. He stayed in the pool room, and left around 2:05 when they didn't show up." I continued to explain. "He may have murdered Satoko in that 5 minute window, especially because…"

"I have the infirmary key." Hiiro nodded. "Which means I could've used it to take the maggots that were in the infirmary."

I nodded silently. I hate accusing them like this…

"But why me?" Koko questioned. "If I didn't have the infirmary key how do you think I would've been able to get the maggots?"

"Well, there's two ways you could've." I explained. "The first is obvious; simply stealing Hiiro's infirmary key from his bag, which wouldn't have been too hard considering you're almost always with him."

"The second," I continued. "Is a little more complicated."

_**Question: How could've Koko gotten to the infirmary without a key?**_

**Truth Bullet: Secret Path from Infirmary to Game Room, fired!**

"Haha, got it one take!"

"The air vents in the infirmary and the game room are connected." I explained. "You could've crawled through them to get the maggots without having to open the infirmary door."

Koko nodded. "True, true...but Seizo, there's um, just one problem with your theory…"

"Huh?" I asked. "What is it?"

"Well, even if I could've used the vents to go to the infirmary from the game room...I couldn't have possibly have killed Satoko in the pool room since Hiiro was in there waiting for Mari and Taka. Additionally, I couldn't have waited for him to leave and gone in afterwards since he would've noticed I wasn't in the game room." Koko explained, sternly looking me in the eyes.

…

…

…

"I'm stupid as shit…" I cried, burying my face in my hands.

Then I remembered the cut on my hand and yelped after it touched my face, the sweat and perspiration on my forehead making the open wound sting.

"Don't say that!" Koko quickly said. "You were just trying to help figure out who the killer is!"

"Yes, as cruel as it is we can't afford to eliminate any suspects." Evelyn sighed.

"We must explore every possibility." Leonia agreed.

"I also have something that proves I can't be the killer," Hiiro suddenly spoke up. "Similar to Mari's alibi."

"Oh God, I'm going to be proven wrong again…" I muttered, shaking my head in disappointment at my own actions.

"I was in the pool room because I was waiting for Mari and Taka...it wouldn't be very good for me if I was killing Satoko and then the two of them walked in." Hiiro explained. He was also shaking his head at me.

"Aw man," I sighed. "There goes our last two leads…"

"You stupid fucking idiot." Takahashi frowned, taking off his sunglasses. "There's one more lead, one that none of you idiots are thinking of. I mean damn, I really am the smartest one here!"

"Shut up, Takahashi." I mumbled. "Can you just tell us?"

"Tch, I have to do everything around here." He smirked. "I guess that's just the effect of being the Ultimate fucking Pilot."

"_Shut up and tell us_!" Fran demanded, crossing her arms.

Taka chuckled, not bothered in the slightest. "Fine, fine...the last lead...the one person who doesn't actually have an alibi."

"Doesn't actually have an alibi?" Akumu scratched his head. "What's that mean?"

"I thought we went over everyone and figured out we all have an alibi…" Nadia gulped.

"Everyone in this room does, but…" Takahashi started, looking at me.

Oh…

Oh!

That's right!

The one person who doesn't have an alibi…

_**Accuse**__: Who doesn't have an alibi?_

Seizo

Clara

Leonia

Hiiro

Jack

_Satoko_

Akumu

Takahashi

**Shiro/Kuro**

_Silver_

Francesca

_Ritsu_

Evelyn

Takumi

Isami

Sonoda

Koko

Nadia

Norikazu

Mari

_**DECIDE: **_**Shiro/Kuro**

"The show's over!"

"Shiro/Kuro!" I gasped. "He's not here...but he's the only one who could've killed Satoko!"

"But Monokuma let him be absent from the trial, which is breaking the newly introduced **Culprit Attendance **rule. " Leonia frowned. "Monokuma, did you bend the rules to work in Shiro/Kuro's favor?"

Monokuma giggled. "I did absolutely nothing of the sort!"

"So are you saying we're wrong? Shiro/Kuro isn't the killer?" Akumu gulped.

"I think we should figure that out for ourselves." I frowned. "Monokuma. I know where Shiro/Kuro is."

"Oh?" The bear tilted his head in curiosity. "And where might that be?"

"I'll show you." I declared. "Let's take a recess so we can go and grab Shiro/Kuro. That _is _allowed, right?"

Monokuma thought for a moment, before slowly nodding. "Fine, fine! You better be right, or I'll slap you with my fishstick!" He said whilst eating a plate of fish sticks.

I nodded.

I didn't know for sure, but I'm thinking logically here and it's the only place he could be onboard without breaking any rules...

Let's do this!

If we find Shiro/Kuro, we'll get his account of the murder and find out once and for all what the hell happened to Satoko…

* * *

_A/N_: **Here's the 2nd trial, part 1! Let me know what you guys think of it.**

**We're nearing the end of the 'first arc' of this story...things are going to get crazier from here on out, I can't wait to show you guys what's happening next!**

**Until the next one!**


	23. Heaven With You (Part 8)

Heaven or Hell (Part 8) (_**Deadly Life**_)

* * *

The ride in the elevator felt longer than usual, especially with everyone talking over each other. It was safe to say that all of us were a little weirded out about leaving the trial grounds before actually finishing the trial.

"I'm so confused," Akumu admitted. "Where could Shiro/Kuro be?"

"Is he hiding in his room, maybe?" Takumi suggested.

"No," Clara said, shaking her head. "Remember, it's against the rules to be in your room during an investigation."

"Wherever he is, I'm going to have a nice long chat with him when I see him again…" Evelyn muttered.

Huh, wonder why she's so worked up. Fran must've been eliminated for sparing Shiro/Kuro, which doesn't make any sense since she knows what happened to me when I tried sparing him. Why didn't she vote to eliminate him?

"I can't believe you all suspected me of killing Satoko," Mari huffed, crossing her arms. "Do you just assume I'm the killer for every murder that happens on this ship?!"

"Get over it," Takahashi said. "We had a good reason to, it's not like we're just suspecting you because we don't like you."

"Even if that _is _the case." Fran joked with a smirk. Mari glared at her in response.

At last, the elevator ride was over.

The doors opened to reveal Monokuma, waiting in the room before the elevator.

"Took ya long enough!" He chastised. "Anyways, you all know the drill by now, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just get it over with."

The bear wasted no time in doing so as a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over me. I slowly closed my eyes, collapsed to the floor, and fell asleep.

* * *

"Alright, Seizo, so where exactly do you think Mr. Shiro/Kuro is, hmmm?" Was the first thing I heard when I woke up.

I blinked my eyes open and slowly stood up, everyone else doing the same. I looked around and noticed we were right back at the crime scene, Satoko's body still floating in the water.

I cleared my throat and quickly averted my eyes.

"Well, we're actually pretty close. Let's go." I said in response.

"Huh, really?" Koko asked, her eyes wide. "He was near us this whole time?"

"I'm not sure how close, but he's definitely on this floor." I replied. "C'mon, follow me."

I lead my classmates and Monokuma out of the pool room.

I started walking, eager to find out if I was right…

The only room on this ship that Evelyn and Fran couldn't have investigated…

I opened the door, the light automatically switched on and revealed…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Absolutely nothing.

"What the hell, D-Lister?!" Takahashi angrily yelled, a very annoyed look on his face. "Are you seriously messing with us right now?"

"If you are, I don't find it to be very funny." Leonia frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "We're supposed to be solving the murder of Satoko, not fooling around."

"I expected better from you, Seizo." Norikazu admitted, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Calm down, you guys." I sighed. "I knew he wasn't going to be in here."

"Then why did you take us here?" Hiiro asked. "To waste time?"

"Stalling for a time in a class trial is a serious no no!" Monokuma angrily remarked.

"I'm not stalling for time either." I insisted.

"Oh!" Fran spoke up. "That's right!"

"Ah, so that's it…" Akumu realized, slowly nodding with a smile. "Nice one, Seizo!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Mari questioned, looking annoyed at Fran and Akumu's smirks. "He is literally just showing us an empty room and you guys are praising him?!"

"It's not completely empty…" Isami said, slowly raising her finger and pointing at what I wanted my classmates to see. "If you all stopped arguing for just a minute, it's pretty obvious as to why Seizo took us here…"

I smiled. "Thank you, Isami." I walked up to Monokuma and held out my hand, now completely confident in my theory. "I'm right, aren't I?"

Monokuma giggled. "Ah, damn it! I should've known you'd be the one to figure it out…" He handed me a key and I smirked.

"I knew it!" I said in a triumphant tone. "The only room, completely unsearched by everyone during the investigation, is the **room inside the captive's room**!"

"Captive's room?" Monokuma cocked his head to the side. "The room we are now in is called **Heaven or Hell**." He revealed.

"Oh, uh, ok…" I slowly nodded. "Um, the only room, completely unsearched by everyone, is the **room inside Heaven or Hell**!"

"I can't believe I just now remembered," Fran sighed. "We must've forgotten about it because the door is locked."

"Plus I'm sure none of the three of us ever wanted to think about this room again…" Akumu sadly smiled.

I nodded. "Alright you guys. Ready for some answers?"

"W-what if he's not in there?" Nadia nervously asked. "Or what if he's in there but he's…"

"Dead." Jack finished for her. "I'm not sure why, but I don't think that's the case. I have a feeling the Ultimate Occultist is still alive."

"Let's hope so," Sonoda commented. "If not, then we have to do another murder investigation, and it will definitely make Satoko's murder investigation a lot more complicated."

"Well we'll never find out if he's truly deceased or not if we don't open the door, correct?" Leonia asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Very true," I sighed, turning the key in my hands. "Alright, here goes nothing."

I put the key into the lock and turned it. It unlocked the door without any problems.

Then, I grabbed the handle of the door, hesitating for a bit. I really didn't want to find another dead body, especially one belonging to one of the purest souls on this ship, Shiro… (on the other hand, we'd be finally rid of the loudmouth asshole, Kuro…)

I opened the door, and we all walked in the room…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"W-What the hell is this?!" I gasped.

"Is he ok?" Evelyn nervously asked.

"Shiro…" Isami quietly said.

The room we were now in looked like some sort of utility hallway, with dim lighting and various controls and pumps.

The most important thing in the room, however, was Shiro/Kuro, who was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall. His forehead bore some sort of bruise. He was strangely **not wearing his hoodie**...

It was a surprising sight, but I realized something and smiled.

"Is he dead?!" Clara frantically asked, rushing up to him. "No, not another one!"

"This can't be happening…" Nadia mumbled, her blue eyes brimming with tears.

"This sucks!" Takumi groaned. "Not again…"

"Relax, you guys." I laughed. "He isn't dead."

I walked up to Shiro/Kuro and Clara and knelt down beside him. Then I grabbed his shoulder and shook him as hard as I could.

"SHIRO! OR, UH, KURO, I GUESS! WAKE UP!" I yelled in his ear.

"S-Seizo!" Clara said with wide eyes.

As expected, Shrio/Kuro's eyes started to twitch and they suddenly blinked open. The boy looked at me in surprise.

"Seizo! What are you doing?!" He asked, lightly pulling away from me.

"Sorry about that," I awkwardly laughed, letting go of him and backing away. "I just needed you to wake up so everyone could see you were still alive and stop freaking out."

"How did you even know he was alive?!" Clara asked in shock. "What if you were shaking a dead body?"

"The body discovery announcement." I explained. "It didn't play when we walked in here."

"Ah, that makes sense." Norikazu nodded. "It plays when...how many people discover a body?"

"**Three**!" Monokuma answered.

"Noted…" Norikazu said, looking like he was thinking about something.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" Koko smiled. "Um, just so things don't get confusing, which one are you, Shiro or Kuro?"

…

…

…

"O-Oh," He gulped. "I'm, um, Shiro."

"Yeah right." Sonoda scoffed. "We can see right through your charade, Kuro."

"Nice try, but we're not falling for it again." Leonia declared, glaring at the occultist.

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me." Takumi remarked. "You're not fooling me again, Kuro!"

Shiro (?) looked quite stressed and embarrassed. "B-But, it's really me! I'm Shiro, I p-promise!" He insisted, hopelessly looking at the floor in despair.

"That's what you said last time, and look where it got me." Fran frowned.

"Yeah, you literally said, and I quote: 'I already told you guys. I'm not letting Shiro play this game. So no matter how many theories or plans you come up with to get rid of me; I'll still be here. And I'll knock you off one by one. I'm going to win the Traitor/Truce game'." Evelyn said. "How do you expect us to believe you're actually Shiro when you threatened our lives after saying you'd basically never give Shiro his body back?"

"T-that wasn't m-me…" Shiro (?) claimed, starting to look sad. I noticed his lip starting to quiver.. "I'm sorry K-Kuro did all of that to you but I'm m-me now, I swear. He's under c-control."

"T-that wasn't m-me," Takumi mocked, rolling his eyes. "You're such a liar, Kuro, just be nice for once and tell us the truth already!"

"You could save us all a bunch of time if you just fess up. Are you forgetting that if you're not the killer, you'll be executed along with the rest of us if we don't find out who it is?" Jack frowned.

"I think he might be telling us the truth," Clara said. "At least I hope he is...is there any way we could find out if he's actually Shiro or not?"

"I can think of one," I sighed. "Sorry in advance if you're actually Shiro…"

I pulled my fist back and then swung it forward, softly hitting Shiro on the shoulder, but enough that it'd hurt a little.

"Ow!" Shiro (?) yelped. He looked up with me with watery eyes. "S-Seizo, why'd you h-hit me?" He sniffed.

"**Shiro**!" I gasped. "I'm sorry! I knew if you were actually Kuro you'd yell at me and hit me back, but you really are Shiro..."

"There was an easier way of telling, you know…" Isami claimed. I jumped at the sound of her voice, I hadn't heard it in so long. "That is definitely Shiro. His mannerisms, tone of voice, and body language all point to him being in control. Unless Kuro has become the Ultimate Actor, he's telling us the truth."

"I don't think he's acting." I said. "I'm not an expert in body language or anything, but I can usually tell when someone's acting like someone they're not."

"But I don't understand," Norikazu admitted. "Kuro told all of us he'd never let Shiro take control as long as the Traitor/Truce game was going on. Did he let him have control due to Satoko's death?"

"It's a long s-story…" Shiro explained.

"One that will be revealed in the class trial!" Monokuma announced. "All right everyone, time to head bac-"

"Wait." I interrupted. "There's still something else we need to know before we go back to the trial grounds."

"Like what?" Akumu questioned.

"How Shiro was able to get into this room." I replied. "Fran, Akumu, and I were all locked in Heaven or Hell, which is the only room we know that has a door leading to this room. So how was Shiro able to get inside? None of the three of us saw him go into the room."

"Oh, uh, c-can I show them, M-Monokuma?" Shiro asked, looking up at the bear with an anxious expression.

Monokuma thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "Fineee...make it quick, though, and keep your mouth shut about anything else!"

Shiro nodded. He stood up from the floor and began walking down the hall. As we moved further down, I noticed a strong chemically smell, and that the pumps and pipes were all connected to each other.

We walked in silence down the hall…

Until we came to a dead end.

"I don't get it." Mari frowned. "You teleported in here?"

"N-No…" Shiro sighed. "Look at this."

He pressed on a spot on the wall, and it...opened?!

"What the fuck?" Taka remarked.

"I did not expect that to happen." Norikazu admitted.

Shiro opened the 'wall' more, and we all walked through.

"That explains the chemical smell." Clara nodded, looking around.

"And where all of the controls for these are." Akumu continued, tapping on one of the machines.

We were right back where we started: the pool room.

The hallway we were in before must've been a control room for the pool, and the anti-gravity machines. It made sense now, machines like that obviously needed to have a bunch of controls and power generators, and everyone knows a pool needs a bunch of pumps and shit for things like the filter and stuff.

The wall that secretly opened was the front wall of the room, in the middle of the bleachers.

"Of fucking course." Takahashi sneered. "I knew there was something off about this room but I couldn't figure it out."

_Tch, I was so damn stupid…_

_There was something obvious I didn't bother to investigate…_

_Something you saw as soon as you walked into the room, but didn't necessarily suspect; making it perfect to hide Monokuma's secret._

"Well at least we now know how Shiro was able to get in there." I smiled. "Well, I guess we can head back now, Monokuma."

"Gee, thanks for your permission." The animatronic sarcastically quipped. "Time to head back, everyone!"

I braced myself, and felt the exhaustion creep over my body, and just like last time, I collapsed to the floor and fell asleep.

* * *

This time, we awoke in the trial room, in front of our stands.

"How convenient." Leonia commented, standing up and brushing her skirt off.

"Agreed!" Koko beamed, also standing up. "Though you have to wonder what effect this much drugs being injected into our bloodstream does to our body…"

_**TRIAL RESUME**_

We all stood up and composed ourselves, finally ready to continue with the trial.

Shiro looked quite nervous as he stood at his stand. I couldn't tell if it was his usual nerves, or something worse, however…

"Finally," Monokuma huffed, sitting on his throne. "I thought that little field trip would never end!"

"It was good to get some 'fresh air', so to speak." Akumu joked.

"I almost forgot why we're here…" Clara admitted, sadly looking at Satoko's portrait of her smiling face.

"Well allow me to refresh your memory." Jack said in a harsh tone, obviously still upset about the death of his friend. "Before we left, we determined that there's only one other person who could be the killer. The only one with out an alibi for the time of the murder..."

"**Shiro**." Hiiro finished. "All of us here have alibis but you. Can you explain yourself?"

Shiro gulped. "O-oh, um, of course! I p-promise I'm not the killer, it's a long story t-though…"

"Let's hear it." Mari said. "Only then will you be able to prove your innocence."

Shiro nodded, his face red with embarrassment. "Alright!"

_**Non-Stop Argument**_

Shiro cleared his throat. "Ok, um, so I tried **talking to K-Kuro,** through our t-thoughts…"

"I asked h-him if he could please l-let me have control and stop **e-eliminating the others in Traitor/T-Truce**…" He continued. "He, um, let me see what w-was going on, you see…"

"I kept trying harder and h-harder **to regain control**, and one day I f-finally almost got it back…" He said.

"Kuro was s-slipping away, his m-mind started to** be overtaken by mine**," Shiro said. "He needed to s-sit down for awhile, to try and regain complete c-control, so **he went to the p-pool room**."

"My memory was a little foggy for a while, I think he was giving a-all his strength to take b-back complete control. I t-think I remember Clara and M-Mari telling Hiiro and h-him to wait in the hallway for a little b-bit so they could c-change into their swimsuits...Oh, my hoodie went missing around that time as well.. After they were done, they went back i-inside and I started to regain control a-again. Kuro stayed quiet, watching Clara and M-Mari swim while Hiiro watched t-them." Shiro continued. "Finally, they l-left, and I took action! I fought and fought with K-Kuro, until I managed to regain partial c-control of my senses. I made us walk over to one of the** a-antigravity machines,** **and slammed our head down to knock either him or both of us o-out**."

"Luckily, it worked and o-only he was knocked out, probably because his c-control of our body was already so w-weak." Shiro revealed. "I was still pretty dazed though, and s-started to wander around, a little confused…I leaned onto the wall for support which is d-discovered the secret room. I w-went in there to look around and r-rest, and have been in t-there ever since. **Monokuma came to t-talk to me**, but I told him I was too weak to go to the trial...I'm ok now t-though!"

"And that's everything that h-happened." Shiro explained. "You b-believe me, right guys?"

_**Truth Bullet: Dented Anti-Gravity Machine, FIRED!**_

"I agree with that!"

"P-please help me conjure up the truth!"

_**BREAK!**_

**Truth Bullet: Shiro's Account, obtained!**

"Excuse me, _what_?" Mari asked in an angry tone. "Are you seriously using the same truth bullet twice in one trial to prove his little story? Ugh, I do remember telling him and Hiiro to wait in the hallway for like 5 minutes while me and Clara got changed though, so that's part true, but you're trying to prove the rest of his story with the dented anti-gravity machine?"

"Uh, hold on, truth bullet?" Koko repeated, tilting her head.

"Sorry about that," I nervously laughed, backing away from Mari. "But it all makes sense now. Shiro was definitely the one to bang his head into the anti-gravity machine."

"Wait a minute, I thought the killer used the anti-gravity machine to kill Satoko." Koko frowned. "But now Shiro is the one who used it?"

"Yes, I'm sure." I nodded. "After all, it explains something that didn't make sense before…"

"_No one cares." Takahashi interrupted. "Anyways, that is basically what Seizo and I were thinking. Satoko is a small and no offense, weak, girl. It would be easy for any of us to grab her and push her head into one of the anti-gravity machines, and with enough force, it could definitely be a fatal blow."_

"_How__** gruesome**__." Evelyn frowned. "But it is definitely a possibility that we should keep in mind."_

_Gruesome..._

_Huh._

_Yeah, it would be…_

"_Ok, so it could've been the anti-gravity machine." Evelyn surmised. "But I don't think the murder weapon matters if we can't pin point who could've done it!"_

"The lack of any blood at the crime scene." I explained. "The dented anti-gravity machine had absolutely no blood on it, despite Satoko being surrounded by a pool of it! Now that we know Shiro was the one who dented it, in order to wound himself, not kill, it makes sense that there was no blood."

"Y-Yeah," Shiro nodded, moving some of his bangs to the side, revealing the faint bruise that hitting his head caused. "It hurt, but n-not enough to cause any bleeding."

"So good for Shiro," Akumu said. "Since it helps make his alibi more credible...but now the question is…"

"What was the murder weapon." I sighed, scratching my head. "Damn it...I feel like we're right back to stage one."

"We just simply have to think about what things could be used as weapons capable of causing the wound on Satoko's head." Leonia said. "However, I haven't got the faintest idea considering Takahashi and Seizo locked up a majority of the dangerous things that could be used as weapons in Takahashi's room."

"Does that mean that Takahashi could've done it?!" Koko gasped. "He could've used one of the weapons in his room!"

"I have a credible alibi, remember?" Takahashi rolled his eyes.

"Oh, that's right…" Koko awkwardly laughed.

"So it must've been something else." Fran suggested. "What were the other things that were discussed before?"

"I think someone said _una silla_?" Evelyn said. "A chair?"

"I find that hard to believe…" Takumi admitted. "Someone would have to be really strong in order to hit Satoko's head hard enough to cause a wound like that."

"So something else then…" Nadia sadly frowned. "I don't have any idea what it could be…"

Ugh, me neither!

I was so focused on the antigravity machine I didn't really think of anything else capable of killing Satoko.

Something hard enough to cause a mortally fatal wound that made her bleed out…

But, it also needed to be easy to use, as none of us here are exactly super strong, especially given our lack of exercise in the weeks that we've been here.

What the hell could it be?! We didn't find anything like that near the crime scene…

"Oh, Seizo!" Norikazu gasped, looking unusually energetic. Seriously, it was kind of creepy how his tone of voice went up like that… "Do you remember what we found in the gym storage room? The thing with orange spots?"

"Huh?" I raised a brow, thinking back to when I exited the air vent with Norikazu.

_Norikazu sighed, pushing past me and walking up to the shelf. He picked up a baseball bat and showed it to me. _

_It was pretty faint, but noticeable upon closer inspection. The entirety of the baseball bat was covered in small, bright orange spots. _

_It was otherwise spotless, with no dust or anything, just those weird faint bright orange spots. _

"_No wonder you spotted this," I said. "An illustrator like you probably notices the smallest difference in color, right?"_

_Norikazu nodded. "Yes. Additionally, I can tell you that this isn't paint. I'm not sure what it is, but it's nothing that was painted on. In fact, it appears that the original paint of the bat has been damaged."_

"Oh!" I gasped. "I didn't even think of that!"

Norikazu nodded. "I'm unsure if it's related to the murder, but it's unusual, yes?"

The thing that we found...it definitely could be the murder weapon.

_**Question: What could've killed Satoko?**_

**Truth Bullet: Damaged Baseball Bat, fired!**

"A baseball bat!" I said. "Anyone can swing it hard enough to kill someone!"

"That's…a gruesome statement." Koko deadpanned.

"Wait." Takahashi frowned. "What did you just say, Norikazu?"

"I'm unsur-" Norikazu started, before being interrupted by Takahashi.

"No. Before that. What was that about the spots on the paint? What color were they?" Takahashi clarified.

"Orange." Norikazu answered. "But they weren't painted on spots, it was a result of the paint of the bat being damaged."

"Orange spots…" Takahashi chuckled. "That sounds fucking familiar."

_I sighed, taking the clothes out of the dryer. _

_Everything was nice and clean…_

_Except for one pair of swim suit bottoms. _

"_What the hell…" I muttered. I had noticed them before because they were tangled in with a shirt, but now I could see there were small stains of something dotted across them. It looked bright orange._

_I don't have a sister or anything, but I'm smart enough to know this isn't blood. The weird thing was, none of the other clothes were stained, just the swim suit bottoms. _

_I shrugged. Not my problem; I know for a fact that I did the laundry exactly how I was supposed to. _

"Ah, yes, I did notice that upon receiving the laundry." Leonia nodded. "I wonder what those spots could be."

"Well, um, they were on both the swim suit bottoms and the bat, so they must be related, right?" Nadia asked in her signature meek tone.

"But why did my swimsuit bottoms have spots on them?" Leonia frowned. "Did anyone else have the same issue?"

"Not that I can remember." I said. "I just chucked them in my hamper when I changed out of them."

Everyone had a similar answer, with Leonia being the only one to wash her swim suit bottoms.

"None of your other clothes had the spots on them so the problem must be the swim suit bottoms themselves." Evelyn surmised. "Maybe...it has something to do with **the pool**?"

"What do you mean?" Sonoda questioned.

"Well, both the swim suit bottoms and the bat had spots on them, for no apparent reason. We don't know where the bat's been. But we know the only place the swim suit bottoms have been is in the pool and dryer. Because the dryer isn't the problem, it must be the pool."

"That makes sense." Fran nodded. "But then why are the rest of our swimsuits free of any spots?"

"Well, Taka, did Leonia's swim suit bottoms have any spots on them before you put them in the dryer?" Evelyn asked.

"It's not like I was inspecting every single thing I was putting in the dryer, but no, I can't remember any of the clothes having any spots or stains on them before I put them in." Takahashi answered.

"So maybe the dryer caused the spots to appear!" Takumi suggested. "And I think I know what caused the spots in the first place!"

"What is it?" Clara inquired.

"It must've been the** chemicals **from the pool." Takumi explained. "When high concentrations of pool chemicals stain something, especially something white like Leonia's swim suit, it gives it orangish colored stains."

"And the dryer activated them?" Akumu wondered.

"I think so." I nodded. "But why?"

"Because certain pieces of clothing aren't meant to be put in the dryer!" Monokuma chastised. "The swim suits are made of special material that is protected by the chemicals of the pool, but isn't supposed to be put in the dryer; it's too fragile!"

"Well you could've told us that before then." Leonia frowned.

"Boo hoo." Monokuma mocked.

"Ok, so if the chemicals caused the spots, then why does the bat have them?" Clara questioned. "Does that mean that the bat was put into the pool?"

"I think so." I nodded. "Which means our new theory of the bat being the murder weapon just might be true. Because the bat doesn't have that special protection or whatever, the spots appeared without the use of the dryer."

"Why would someone put the bat in the pool, though?" Takumi wondered.

Hm, I think I know this one.

_**Question: Why did the killer put the bat in the pool?**_

_They wanted to play underwater baseball_

_It would help Satoko's body disappear_

_**To wash off the blood**_

"Haha, got it in one take!"

_**Answer: To wash off the blood**_

"They obviously wanted to conceal the fact that it was used as a weapon since they put it back in the storage room." I explained. "To further hide the fact that it was used as a weapon they washed the blood off in the pool."

"But why, though?" Clara wondered. "Why would us knowing that the weapon was a baseball bat be bad for the killer?"

"No idea…" Takumi admitted. "Let's figure it out!"

_**Non-Stop Argument**_

"The baseball bat...was the **murder weapon **this whole time?!" Sonoda asked in a shocked tone.

"Yup, but why would try and the killer hide the fact that it was…?" Akumu wondered.

"Maybe because they're the **Ultimate Baseball Star **and people would know he was the killer?!" Takumi suggested.

"It's obviously because they're one of the only people** strong enough to use it**." Mari said confidently.

"Ooo, now we can go back to the gym and **look at the stop clock**!" Fran said.

"To truly figure out the time of Satoko's murder…" Isami nodded.

"That sounds like a g-good idea…" Shiro smiled.

_**Truth Bullet: Broken Stop Clock, fired!**_

"No, that's wrong!"

_**BREAK!**_

"Sorry Fran, but no dice." I sighed. "The stop clock is broken, for some reason."

"Aw man," Fran frowned. "I thought I was onto something...anytime a piece of a equipment is used the stop clock goes off, which could've told us when exactly Fran died, and maybe point us to why the killer hid the fact that the baseball bat was the murder weapon. But if it's broken, then there's nothing we can do…"

"Hang on a sec." I said. "We need to think about why the stop clock was broken...like you said, Fran, we could've figured out the exact time of death since the stop clock would've gone off when the baseball bat was used...which means the killer broke it to hide that time."

"Well yeah, I thought that was pretty obvious." Mari said. "They'd have no other motive to break it, right?"

"I don't think so." I nodded. "But the killer must've known we'd be able to figure out a time when she was killed...unless...we were wrong."

"W-what?!" Shiro asked. "So she wasn't murdered w-when we thought she was?"

"I'm not sure," I answered. "But looking back...I just remembered something super important that I should've brought up a long time ago."

"What is it?" Takahashi questioned. "Come on, spit it out, you're wasting all of our time."

I looked at two people who probably knew what I was thinking about. They nodded at me.

"Alright," I said. "So basically…"

_The silence was suddenly interrupted by a voice. It sounded faraway, and I wasn't sure if I was imagining it or not. _

"_Guys! Can you hear me? I know you're in there! Don't worry, I'm going to get help!"_

"_...Huh?" The masucline voice said. "Who's there?"_

"_Is somebody there?!" The feminine voice frantically asked. "Please, help us!"_

"_...I can't understand you!" The mysterious voice said. "But don't worry, I'm going to get help, just wa-" _

_The voice stopped, and I heard some sort of loud BANG noise, followed by a yell._

"I didn't really think much of it at the time since I was so damn tired, and I had forgotten about it until now because of everything going on with Satoko." I admitted. "But the baseball bat reminded me, as did my 'investigation' with Norikazu."

"Hm, what do you mean?" Leonia asked.

"When I got to the equipment room to look around, I noticed the vent was open and a broken plate was in front of it," I explained. "I went through it and found Norikazu also investigating. Turns out, there's a vent leading from the equipment room to the captive's room. No one ended up going into the captive's room, but I'm sure whoever that voice belonged to was going to try to…"

"And it's safe to say that it's Satoko." Takahashi finished. "In fact, I'm pretty damn sure. A broken plate you said? That reminds me…"

_Satoko glared at me. "It's not going to be." She then walked over to the plate I had in front of me, and picked it up._

"_The hell are you doing?" I frowned. "The kitchen isn't open, y'know, so you can't put it to wash."_

"_I wasn't going to wash it…" She sighed. "I need it."_

"_...Fine." I said. "Do whatever you want with it."_

_She raised a brow. "You're not going to ask me what I need it for."_

"_Nope." I answered. "I don't really care, do what you want with it." _

"_Ok…" She slowly nodded. "Well, good night."_

_Much to my surprise, instead of going through the door leading to our bedrooms, she went back to the door leading to the announcement room. _

I narrowed my eyes. "So Satoko was the one to take the plate…"

"Which later broke." Clara finished.

"Why would she need a plate?" Mari questioned. "Was she planning on eating a meal in the announcement room by herself like some loner?"

"I doubt that's the case." I frowned. "Hm, the plate was found broken in the equipment room, which means Satoko probably took it there…"

But why?

_**Hangman's Gambit**_

"Why did Satoko need Takahashi's plate?"

?-?-? ?-?-?-?

Ok, so Satoko had the plate in the equipment room…

P-?-? ?-P-?-?

Which means whatever she needed it for was in that room.

P-R-? ?-P-?-?-?

But what could it have been? She didn't eat in there, that's for sure…

P-R-Y ?-P-?-?

Oh, and we have to remember that the plate was broken…

P-R-Y O-P-?-?

In front of…

P-R-Y O-P-E-?

The vent! That's it!

P-R-Y O-P-E-N

**Answer**: Pry open

_**BREAK!**_

"The vent!" I exclaimed. "Satoko needed something to pry open the vent with!"

_I walked over to the vent cover, lifting it up from the floor. _

_It was one of those vent covers with the slots, all designed to be slightly diagonal. It's not supposed to be able to be opened: there's no screws or anything to take it off from the wall. _

"_I guess with enough force," I started, trying to tug on one of the slots. "You try and pry it open."_

_But I didn't think that was the case either; my fingers and anybody else's were too big to fit into one of the slots in order to get a good grip on it to pry it open. _

_So how the hell did someone open this?!_

"Any of our fingers would be too big to get a good grip in order to pry it open, but a plate would do the job without any problems!" I said. "Well actually, maybe a few...My guess is Satoko tried to pry open the vent with the plate and used all the strength she could...in doing so, however, the vent suddenly broke open without any warning and Satoko dropped the plate, which broke it."

"Ooo, that makes sense!" Akumu nodded. "So the voice we heard was definitely hers! But that means…"

"The scream was hers too…" I gulped. "Which means...something we've been thinking for awhile now isn't true."

Takahashi nodded. "You're right...she **wasn't killed in the pool room**, after all."

"She was killed in the gym equipment room." I finished. "And her body was taken to the pool after the fact-"

"**Something's off about this**…"

I looked over in surprise to see **Koko **shaking her head.

"Sorry Seizo, but I really don't think Satoko was killed in the gym equipment room." She said. "I mean, there's so many clues pointing towards her demise being in the pool room, like we've been discussing this whole time."

"Alright," I nodded. "No need to argue, we can have a friendly discussion about this."

Koko smiled. "Alright Seizo, allow me to prove my theory!"

_**Rebuttal Showdown**_

"Remember all the clues pointing to Satoko dying in the pool room?

The bloody water, the fact that her body wasn't there until Takahashi and Mari got to the pool room?

Not to mention the dented anti-gravity machine." Koko said.

"Well, remember the anti-gravity machine was dented by Shiro.

And the water could've become bloody after Satoko's body was put in it, which could've been done at any time before Takahashi and Mari got to the pool room." I rebutted.

_**ADVANCE!**_

"Oops, sorry I forgot! And fair point.

However, remember the fact that Satoko's head was definitely bleeding a lot.

Why wasn't there any bleeding leading from the gym to the pool room?

I don't think there's** any other clues or anything unusual about the gym that helps your argument**, sorry Seizo!" Koko stated with an awkward laugh.

_**Truth Bullet: Missing Base, fired!**_

"_Cut!"_

_**BREAK!**_

"Nothing else unusual about the gym, huh?" I chuckled. "Well that's not right. Something incredibly unusual was the fact that one of the bases that Taka drew on the floor for our game of kickball is missing...and I think I know why."

"Why is that?" Koko questioned, raising a brow.

"Well, the killer obviously didn't want to leave a trail of blood if they were trying to hide the fact that the murder happened in the gym." I said. "Which means the killer must've found some way to clean the blood."

"And in the process they must've accidentally erased one of the bases!" Clara realized.

"Ah, and I know just what the killer used!" Evelyn said in an excited tone. "Which raises up a question we kinda forgot about."

"Oh, really?" I asked, my eyes wide. "What did they use?"

Evelyn nodded. "My best bet is **Senza-Sangue**."

_She was looking in the medicine cabinet, and pulled out some sort of clear bottle. "Huh. Well, this is good to have."_

"_What is that?" Hiiro questioned. "Rubbing alcohol?"_

_Evelyn shook her head. "No. This is Senza-Sangue, a safe mixture of ammonia and bleach that makes it easy to clean up blood. It's considered safer than just mixing ammonia and bleach by themselves because Dam-Off is made up of the perfect ratio of ammonia and bleach, so it doesn't produce as much chloramines, causing a more mild affect when exposed to the smell of it. Hm, now that I think about it, this is probably what Monokuma used to clean up Silver's crime scene."_

"Oh, so that's what Senza-Sangue is." I laughed. "Leonia, Akumu, Takumi, and I thought it was some sort of Italian medicine. We found an empty bottle of it in the infirmary, which means yeah, the killer most likely used it."

"Well, not surprising." Evelyn chuckled. "It's pretty hard to guess what it is based on a...name alone…" Her smile dropped as she finished her sentence.

"Even someone as smart as Leonia, Akumu, and Takumi guessed that it was a medicine…" Evelyn realized, gulping.

I realized what she was saying, my heart dropping.

Holy shit, we were just talking about how the killer cleaned up the blood, but…

"Which means that there's only a select few people who could be the killer." I realized.

"Perfect, we can finally be done with this." Takahashi sighed in relief. "Alright, this is easy. In that room was me, Evelyn, Francesca, Hiiro, and Koko."

My eyes widened. No fucking way…

No fucking way!

The room was silent, with all of the accused keeping their mouths shut.

They didn't need to say anything though.

I know who the killer is.

A weak alibi and the only one who could've committed the crime, especially given an additional piece of information we were given just a little while ago…

Fuck, why'd you do it?! I don't get it…

But I have to accuse you.

If not we'll all die and Satoko's death will be in vain.

Here it goes…

This was a lot more painful than accusing Ritsu…

I considered you a close friend of mine…

_**Accuse**__: Who killed Satoko?_

Seizo

Clara

Leonia

Jack

_Satoko_

Akumu

Takahashi

Shiro/Kuro

_Silver_

Francesca

_Ritsu_

Evelyn

Takumi

Isami

Sonoda

Koko

Nadia

Norikazu

Mari

**Hiiro**

_**DECIDE: **_**Hiiro**

"The show's over!"

"Hiiro...it was you, wasn't it?" I said softly, my eyes refusing to look at the barista.

"Seizo...you can't be serious." Hiiro frowned. "There's no way I would still Satoko. Such a despicable crime that I have no reason for committing."

"Y-Yeah!" Koko nodded. "There's no way he did it, remember? We were playing chess!"

"Sorry, Koko, but it's true…" I sighed. "Especially because the murder wasn't while you were playing chess. Or around that time at all."

"What are you talking about?" Hiiro asked. "I thought we established the murder happened around after 2:05, after I returned from waiting for Takahashi and Mari."

"That's originally what I thought." I said. "But something Shiro said makes it clear to me that it was before then. An hour, actually."

"_My memory was a little foggy for a while, I think he was giving a-all his strength to take b-back complete control. I t-think I remember Clara and M-Mari telling Hiiro and h-him to wait in the hallway for a little b-bit so they could c-change into their swimsuits. Oh, my hoodie went missing around that time as well...After they were done, they went back i-inside and I started to regain control a-again. Kuro stayed quiet, watching Clara and M-Mari swim while Hiiro watched t-them." Shiro continued._

"What are you trying to say, Seizo?" Hiiro sighed. "Say it in a way that doesn't make you sound like you're making no sense, because you aren't."

"Fine." I sighed. "Here goes…"

_**Double Feature**_

"Ahem, allow me to begin…" I started, feeling quite dejected about having to tell this story.

"We're often led to believe things that make sense, because we don't want to think of an alternative that paints a darker picture...However, in the tale surrounding Satoko Kiyomizu's death, the picture couldn't get any darker…

Here we have a girl, trying to accomplish one of her goals. She wanted to see the smiling faces of her dear friends: Seizo, Akumu, and Fran, who were thought to have perished at the hands of the evil Traitor/Truce game.

But, she was in for a gruesome fate…

…

…

…

Satoko went to the gym after playing a VR game (**Sonoda's Account**) at 1:00. There, she was alone for a little while before she found herself wacked over the head with a baseball bat (**Damaged Baseball Bat**).

It turns out, while Clara and Mari were getting changed, Hiiro was the one to strike her...He then most likely hid the body somewhere, as we know that it wasn't put into the pool until around 2:00.

Cleaning up wherever he put it was no problem since he had Senza-Sangue (**Empty Bottle of Senza-Sangue**) on his hands. "

"This is the final cut!"

_**BREAK!**_

…

…

…

"That one was...slightly better." Takumi admitted, his face a pale green. "Albeit still sickening…"

"You got to the point faster, which is a positive." Leonia nodded, dabbing at her sweaty, pale, forehead.

I shook my head. I wasn't in the mood for performance reviews...but it's still pretty nice to be complimented for my work! It's a hard life I live…

"There's so many contradictions in me being the killer and the murder happening at that time." Hiiro sneered. "I mean, have you forgotten? The infirmary key, it was moved!"

"An attempt to make you seem innocent." I argued.

"And what about the fact that I didn't see Satoko's body when I was waiting for Takahashi and Mari?" Hiiro continued to argue, growing less and less chill, which was unlike the Ultimate Barista.

"A lie." I concluded. "During that five minute window, you probably moved Satoko's body into the pool, broke the stop clock, and quickly cleaned up the blood."

"Tch, no way." Hiiro shook his head. "And what of the maggots, hm? Why would I put maggots in the pool?"

"That's something about which I've been thinking about myself." I admitted. "But now that we now that the Senza-Sangue was used to conceal the murder location, it all makes sense. Takahashi, you realized it too, right?"

Taka nodded. "Yup. During the investigation."

"_He said something about how there could never just be one __**organism**__ in the pool. He never specified what organism it had to be!" I said._

"_True…" Taka nodded. "Satoko is obviously an organism since she's a human. The maggots are some type of animal, and the rose petals are plants."_

"_Exactly. If Mari added the rose petals, the killer must've obviously added the maggots in order to bypass the no swimming alone rule." I explained. _

"_Huh. That's probably right…" Taka nodded. "But something doesn't add up…" He added in a hushed tone, curiously looking at Satoko's corpse._

"_What do you mea-"_

"You realized it then, but I just realized it now." I said. "The killer wasn't trying to bypass the no swimming alone rule. The rose petals** already fulfilled that purpose** of having a human capable of swimming, Satoko, and the rose petals, an additional organism that'd mean you weren't alone. The killer realized that, but thought they'd put the maggots in to make us think _that _was what was bypassing the pool rule. In reality, however, they served a different purpose."

"To make us think the killer went to the infirmary solely for the maggots!" Clara realized with a gasp.

I nodded. "Exactly. Hiiro, you used the infirmary key to get the Senza-Sangue and the maggots. You cleaned up the blood with the Senza-Sangue and put the maggots in the pool. Then you hid the bottle of Senza-Sangue to hide the fact that it was used."

"You knew what the Senza-Sangue was used for since you were in the infirmary with us that day." Evelyn frowned.

"And because I was being held captive in the Traitor/Truce room, Evelyn and Koko were at Takumi's brunch, Takahashi was washing clothes, that just leaves you as the only suspect." Fran explained.

"But Koko only went to Takumi's party from 1 to around 1:30." Sonoda said. "I know you now think the murder happened around 1:00, Seizo, but what if it did happen sometime after? That means Koko could still be a suspect, right? After all, her alibi was shaky at best."

"No, because her alibi was much more solid than Hiiro's." I explained.

_Koko nodded. "True, true...but Seizo, there's um, just one problem with your theory…"_

"_Huh?" I asked. "What is it?"_

"_Well, even if I could've used the vents to go to the infirmary from the game room...I couldn't have possibly have killed Satoko in the pool room since Hiiro was in there waiting for Mari and Taka. Additionally, I couldn't have waited for him to leave and gone in afterwards since he would've noticed I wasn't in the game room." Koko explained, sternly looking me in the eyes. _

"Unless Koko and Hiiro were working together, Koko's right. There's no way she could've put the body in the pool at 2:00, since she thought that Hiiro was going to be in there waiting for Mari and Taka. She also could've thought that Mari and Taka were already there, since she didn't know Taka was doing laundry." I continued.

"...Well, Koko? Are you working together with Hiiro?" Isami questioned, cocking her head at the girl.

Koko narrowed her eyes and slowly shook her head. "No…"

"Leave Koko out of your pathetic theory." Hiiro demanded, his eyes glaring daggers at me.

"Huh, what you said before, D-Lister, about Koko not knowing I was doing laundry…" Takahashi said. "Hiiro did. Which completely throws away his supposed alibi from before."

_I let out an annoyed sigh. "And Hiiro's too busy to do it?" I asked, glaring at the barista who did nothing but ignore me. _

_Leonia frowned. "Apparently so. So, would you please?" She held the laundry basket up to me. _

_Damn it...as much as it sucked to take orders from a photoshoot director or whatever the hell, I was the one to suggest the laundry prize in the first place. _

_I slowly took the laundry basket and nodded. "Sure, whatever. Just don't get annoyed if it takes awhile, a load this size will take some time."_

_Leonia nodded. "Thank you. And not a problem, we're in no hurry."_

_She shook her head at Hiiro and walked off. _

_Hiiro frowned. "I would've said yes to washing her clothes, but I have a number of people who've requested that I watch them while they swim. Apparently Mari booked you to go swimming with her around 2."_

"_No she didn't…" I protested. "I mean, she didn't tell me anything about it."_

_Hiiro shrugged. "If you two don't show up, then I'm not waiting for you. Be there early."_

"He knew I wouldn't be done with all that laundry by 2!" Takahashi scoffed. "Which is why the asshole's alibi from before is bullshit!"

"_I also have something that proves I can't be the killer," Hiiro suddenly spoke up. "Similar to Mari's alibi."_

"_Oh God, I'm going to be proven wrong again…" I muttered, shaking my head in disappointment at my own actions. _

"_I was in the pool room because I was waiting for Mari and Taka...it wouldn't be very good for me if I was killing Satoko and then the two of them walked in." Hiiro explained. He was also shaking his head at me. _

"Hiiro claims he couldn't have killed Satoko, or if we change the words around to fit my current theory of moving her body to the pool room at that time, Hiiro claims he couldn't have moved Satoko's body since Mari and Taka might be there. But number one, he knew Taka would be doing laundry which would take a while. And number two…" I said.

"He told me himself to grab him from the game room before I went to the pool room!" Mari gasped.

"_I checked in here at 2:00, and when you guys didn't show up by 2:05, I went back to the game room to be with Koko." Hiiro answered._

"_You only gave them five minutes?" I deadpanned._

"_Yes." Hiiro answered bluntly. "I told Mari before that she could find me in the game room if she happened to be late, after all."_

"I ended up forgetting and just dragged Taka to the pool room without checking, but Hiiro had no way of knowing that! Besides, I didn't even show up to the pool room on time...which Hiiro knew would happen." Mari said.

"Hiiro really is the killer…" Takumi said with a sad look on his face. "But why?!"

"It doesn't matter, he killed Satoko!" Jack said with a clenched fist at his side. "He deserves to be executed."

"I can't say I'm shocked, I always found the guy suspicious." Sonoda admitted.

"This is awful, but if it's the truth, then we need to vote for him." Clara sighed. "If we don't, we'll all be dead."

Nadia was tearing up. "H-Hiiro was always so nice to us…he made us coffee every morning but now he's going to die?"

Shiro was also quite distraught. "I don't know w-why this is happening, but I'm s-sorry it did."

Hiiro was watching all of this with a cold expression. He was shaking his head at every accusation, and denying every rebuttal to his claims of innocence with a soft "no.".

He had remained calm thus far, and it looked like his chill attitude wasn't going to completely disappear anytime soon.

"Everything you say definitely could've happened." Hiiro nodded, actually agreeing with me. "But there's one irrefutable, undeniable truth that makes your entire argument false."

"And what might that be?" I questioned.

Hiiro smiled. A creepy smile, that didn't reach his eyes. One that looked fake, forced. One that made me believe Hiiro was guilty, no matter what he said. "Satoko died in the pool room, just like Koko said. There was no cleaning up blood, or erasing bases on purpose. There was also no moving her body or me killing her and doing all of the things you mentioned before in the span of five minutes. And I'll gladly tell you why."

It broke my heart to be fighting with him like this. This is the guy who was one of the first people I met here. The one who made coffee every morning no matter how tired he himself was.

But I have to end this. Refute his claim, which simply isn't true…

I'm sorry, Hiiro…

_**Argument Armament **_

"I had no part in Satoko's murder."

"It's just simply impossible."

"I already told you her body wasn't in there while I was waiting for Mari and Takahashi."

"You really think I'd lie?"

"There's no way I could've killed Satoko."

"That's an undeniable fact."

"It goes against my morals and everything I've been taught so far in my life."

"And it's impossible."

"Because…"

"Satoko died in the pool room, plain and simple! And because there's no way I could kill her and destroy evidence in five minutes, it couldn't have been me!"

"There's no way Satoko was killed in the gym and brought to the pool."

"**As per the infirmary rules, nothing can be used outside the infirmary. Which means I couldn't have used Senza-Sangue and cleaned up any of the blood from transporting Satoko from the gym to the pool**!"

Hiiro finished his rant, and I took a deep breath, before refuting his alibi, for the last time.

"_The game's over, Hiiro…"_

"**YOU USED SHIRO'S HOODIE!**"

_**BREAK!**_

"Huh?" Hiiro's eyes were wide. The barista looked incredibly uncomposed, almost like he's never lost an argument in his life until now, and he didn't know how to react.

"It's a shaky theory, I know." I sighed. "But one that makes sense. While you were with Kuro in the hallway, you took his hoodie, didn't you? You definitely could've since his mind was already all over the place, he probably wouldn't have even realized. I learned about the infirmary rule after talking to Takahashi. It says that a bottle or first aid can't be taken outside the infirmary. But it says nothing about the content of the bottle...Besides, it's not even an official rule, and since you're the rule enforcer who has the key, it doesn't really apply to you."

"While cleaning up the crime scene, you poured the bottle of Senza-Sangue onto his hoodie and used it to wipe up any blood." Takahashi surmised. "Pretty fucking smart, actually."

Hiiro said nothing.

It was her who came to his defense.

"N-no…" Koko shook her head. "No! Hiiro didn't kill Satoko! He was with me the whole time you said he was cleaning up the crime scene!" She insisted.

"A-and he couldn't have done it, anyway!" Koko continued. "Remember, he came to the game room as soon as he was done supervising Mari and Clara, and we went to wait for Taka and Mari toget-"

"No, Koko. Don't lie for me." Hiiro said, sadly smiling. "You know that's not true."

"Hiiro…" Koko whispered, tears streaming down her face.

"In fact, you've been lying for me for quite a while, huh?" Hiiro said. "You knew I took a little longer to get to the game room after Clara and Mari were done swimming, and I took a little longer than five minutes to 'wait for Mari and Taka'..."

"I-I dunno…" Koko sniffed. "I've always been terrible at keeping the time."

Hiiro silently nodded.

A few seconds later, he looked up at me. "I accept my defeat, Seizo. But please, before I go, convince Koko that I'm definitely the killer. I wouldn't want her to have any more doubts before I…well, before I die."

Koko stayed silent, staring at the ground as she wept.

I nodded. "Ok. I'll tell the story from the beginning. It's a shaky case, but I think it'll do before you tell your side of the story."

Here goes…

**Closing Argument**

"Our story begins this morning.

Satoko and a number of the others went to play a VR game in the VR room of the second floor. The others must've been having a blast, but one person was stressed out and ready to get out of there…

Satoko.

She had found an air vent, and knew it must've connected to Heaven or Hell, where the eliminated players of the Traitor/Truce game were being held. So, after she was done playing the VR game, she went to the air vent, intending to break it open and rescue us.

However, her plan was cut short. She did manage to break open the vent and say something to us, but she couldn't do anything more...as the killer whacked her in the head with a baseball bat.

Now this is the part where I don't know exactly what happened next…

I'm assuming the killer hid her body somewhere. I don't know where it could've been, but it must've been hidden quite well since Mari, who went to the equipment room around 1:45, didn't notice anything wrong.

Either after Clara and Mari were done swimming, or during the time when they were supposed to be 'waiting for Taka and Mari to come to the pool room', they sprang into action. They cleaned up the mess Satoko's head wound made using Senza-Sangue from the infirmary, which they were able to obtain due to the fact that they owned the infirmary key.

They also placed maggots in the pool to hide the fact that Senza-Sangue was used.

Additionally, they broke the stop clock to hide the time of the murder.

Now, I don't know the killer's motivations...seriously, I have no idea.

But there's only one person who could be the killer!

Isn't that right, **Hiiro Sayoama**, **the Ultimate Barista**?"

_**BREAK!**_

I swear, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All of us…were just so confused.

"_**WHY**_?!" Jack yelled. "Why did you kill Satoko?!" The card dealer had most likely never thought Hiiro was the bad guy in all this, so this must be a shock to him. The usually stone-cold and serious young man was now sad, as tears slowly streamed down his face.

"I...I'm sorry." Was all Hiiro could say.

"Wow, wow, wow!" Monokuma remarked. "The mood in here is sooo tense! Let's lighten things up with the cheery music that comes from **Voting Time**!"

"W-wait, already?!" Koko gasped. "But I…"

"You know who to vote for." Hiiro said. "Come on, Koko. I'm not worth putting your life on the line."

The food critic narrowed her eyes.

Monokuma jumped to his feet. "So you all have finished your debating, huh? Considering the trial is over, it's officially time for my favorite event: voting time! Use the button in front of you to vote for who you think killed the unfortunate victim!

Who will be chosen as the blackened?! Will you make the **right choice** or the **dreadfully wrong one**? What's it gonna be? What's it gonna beeee?"

Just like before, a screen popped up on my trial stand.

This time, I wasted no time in selecting Hiiro's portrait…

I don't know why he did what he did, but the fact is clear: he killed Satoko.

About a minute later, a screen popped up behind Monokuma.

It was themed to be like the fighter selection screen for a video game. All of our smiling faces were displayed, and a cursor quickly scrolled over all of them, before getting slower and slower…

And eventually landing on Hiiro.

The word "GUILTY!" appeared on the screen, with confetti flying everywhere.

Then it turned off.

"Upupupu, that's right!" Monokuma exclaimed enthusiastically. "Satoko Kiyomizu's, the Ultimate Prodigy, killer is none other than the Ultimate Barista, Hiiro Sayoama!"

The room was so quiet...until everyone began shouting.

"This case...it makes no sense!" Takumi said.

"So many twists and turns...something doesn't feel right." Isami admitted, looking rather concerned.

"Hiiro." Jack said. "Why the hell did you kill Satoko?!"

Hiiro narrowed his eyes. "I...I'm sorry. I-"

"Hey, I want someone else to explain!" Monokuma suddenly shouted. "You know who I'm talking about, don't you, Hiiro?"

Hiiro frowned. "Are you serious? You won't even let me defend my own name?"

"Hiiro, what is he talking about?" Koko asked, still clearly sad, but now very concerned.

"Upupupu, come on, let's hear it from the mastermind of this whole murder…" Monokuma evilly giggled.

"**Kuro**!"

Everyone gasped, and turned their attention to Shiro...or maybe it's actually been Kuro this entire time?!

Shiro (?) quickly shook his head. "What?! N-no, I'm not K-Kuro right now! Please M-Monokuma, stop trying to lie to them!"

Monokuma crossed his arms. "Oh, relax, Shiro, I know you're not Kuro! What I'm saying is to bring him out!"

Shiro shook his head again. "H-He's not even trying to come out right now...H-He's been quiet for a-awhile…"

"What does Kuro have to do with Satoko's death?!" Jack angrily asked. "Just let Hiiro tell us or tell us yourself, Monokuma!"

"Not his or my story to tell!" Monokuma said, shrugging.

"It's true, I guess." Hiiro said. "The reason I killed Satoko...It wasn't really mine as much as it was Kuro's."

"What are you saying?" Koko questioned. "That…"

"It was Kuro who made me kill Satoko." Hiiro bluntly stated. "Or, in more accurate terms, it was Kuro who-"

"Zip it!" Monokuma demanded. "That's enough out of you, Mr. Barista! I think it's time for your punishment!"

"W-What?!" Koko gasped. "No! You can't, he hasn't even got a chance to explain himself!"

"And he never will!" Monokuma cackled. "Calm down, I'll bring Kuro out and he can explain everything after Hiiro's gone!"

"You're sick, Monokuma!" I shouted. "You gave Ritsu the chance to speak, why not Hiiro?!"

Monokuma's smile dropped off and he looked at me, his red eye glaring. "Because. Hiiro was simply the one who cracked Satoko's skull. It was Kuro who was the true mastermind behind this murder, something you all failed to figure out!"

"It's true…" Hiiro nodded. "I guess I can't say much more before he drags me away, but I promise all of you, **I never wanted to kill Satoko**."

"H-Hiiro!" Koko cried, completely breaking down and running over to the barista. She collapsed in his arms. "Please, don't leave me!"

"I'm sorry, Koko…" Hiiro said, his eyes brimming with tears. "I never meant for this to happen...I wanted to spend more time with you."

"You can!" Koko insisted. "Come on, we can run away! Run away from this room, run back to Earth! We can escape this nightmare, just please don't leave me!"

"I will never leave you." Hiiro said. "I will always be in your heart. Always watching over you. You can count on that."

"Hiiro…" Jack murmured. He didn't look as angry anymore, just sad. His anger was probably overshadowed by his confusion as to what the hell is going on.

"Alright, enough crying!" Monokuma said. "It's time for a very special punishment!"

"I'll never leave you Koko!" Hiiro said again, pulling away from Koko. "Always, remember that!"

"HIIRO, NO!" Koko screamed, tears continuing to spill from her eyes.

"I've prepared a **very special punishment**, for **Hiiro Sayoama, **the **Ultimate Barista**!" Monokuma continued.

"Hiiro, when I find out what happened, I promise I'll make Kuro pay for what he did!" I yelled, starting to cry. "He may not be the one to be executed, but he'll pay!"

"Thank you, Seizo." Hiiro sadly smiled. "And please, take care of Koko for me."

"Let's give it everything we've got! It's...PUNISHMENT TIIIME!"

"HIIRO!" Koko cried, collapsed on the floor.

"Goodbye, Koko…" Hiiro sniffed, wiping away his tears. "It's been a pleasure knowing you."

Monokuma pulled out a little gavel, and suddenly hit a red button in front of him.

There was a little screen on it that displayed:

GAME OVER!

HIIRO SAYOAMA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

TIME FOR THE PUNISHMENT!

There was also a little graphic of a pixelated Hiiro being dragged away by Monokuma…

I turned to Hiiro, my vision blurry due to my tears. Koko collapsed onto the floor next to him, but not long as a chain wrapped around his neck and pulled away from her.

Before he was dragged out of the courtroom, I could've sworn I saw him mouth a certain three letter word to Koko.

Then he was gone.

* * *

_**Order Up!**_

Hiiro appeared to be in a quaint and quiet little cafe, nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that the patrons were all Monokumas.

Hiiro was the only server, and had a long line of thirsty and hungry Monokuma's, awaiting their morning cup of joe.

Hiiro was clearly still stressed and upset, but he took each and every one of the Monokuma's orders, making them in a flash.

Cappuccinos, macchiatos, frappuccinos, teas, coffees, smoothies…

His hands were moving at the speed of light, and he wasted no time in handing out orders, even as the line of Monokuma's continued to increase.

Then, came the more complicated orders.

Monokuma's requesting food items that the cafe didn't carry.

Monokuma's asking for their drinks to be made with Hiiro only using one of his hands.

When Hiiro couldn't comply...the Monokuma's started to become angry.

They threw their drinks at him.

Their silverware.

And then chairs.

Hiiro remained unphased as he continued to work. His body was covered in whip cream, scratches, and bruises, but nothing incredibly fatal or hurtful.

Then, Hiiro noticed the line was finally done!

He looked confused, as all the Monokuma's were all sitting down, chatting about how their days have been and their plans for later.

He thought he made it.

He made enough correct orders to be able to survive.

But…

From above, the ceiling opened up.

And from it, gallons upon gallons of boiling hot coffee rained down on Hiiro.

He was screaming in agony as the beverage started to burn his skin.

His tan skin was now bright red, and then that disappeared, eventually leaving flesh.

The coffee continued to rain down, relentlessly pouring from a pot of infinite coffee.

Hiiro's screams started to become muffled as the quantity of coffee that was pouring down increased, drowning Hiiro.

After what seemed like forever, it finally stopped.

But…

Hiiro was nowhere to be found.

Instead, a pile of ashes was now where he once stood.

No trace of the boy ever being there.

The good thing was though...at least his ashes can be used to make coffee!

_**Introducing: Sayoama Coffee, a blend of rich Japanese flavor with a hint of sarcasm and girl problems, coming to a store near you!**_

Speechless.

Stunned.

And sick.

Were just some of the emotions I felt after watching that.

Some people were crying.

Some were throwing up…

But one.

One looked completely unphased, and almost happy:

…

…

…

…

…

...

Shiro…

No.

**Kuro**.

* * *

_A/N_: **Finally, we're nearing the conclusion of this case****. Sorry that it's going to take one more chapter, I didn't think it would but this chapter is getting too long :monokumasweat:**

**A huge thank you to my friend, Partyboy, for submitting Hiiro Sayoama. It's been a pleasure talking to you on the server, and Hiiro is a character I loved having in the story. Justice will be served for him, I promise! The next chapter will feature several moments with him, so please stick around. **

**Thank you all for reading, see you in the next one!**


	24. Heaven With You (Part 9) (Final)

Heaven With You (Part 9) (_**Deadly Life**_) (Final)

* * *

There's so many things to be disgusted about when you're in a killing game.

The fact that you're in one in the first place…

Some of the terrible people you're stuck with…

And of course, the many deaths that comes with being in one.

The moment someone's soul leaves their body and goes off to who knows where.

But what's even more disgusting is watching that moment.

With Silver and Satoko, we only saw their corpses. To us, they almost looked as if they were in a deep sleep, one that would just so happen to unfortunately last forever.

But with Ritsu and Hiiro...we were forced to watch the very moment when their young lives came to an end.

Just a few minutes before their untimely deaths, they were talking to us, alive and well. In fact, a few minutes before that, they were arguing their hearts out, trying to convince us that they weren't the cruel killers we thought they were.

But then we voted for them...

And they were executed, right in front of our very eyes...all because we _had _to vote for them; it's just how this cruel and unforgiving killing game works.

As cruel as it might be to say, Ritsu _did _kill Silver, and although the punishment she was given was quite severe, it was deserved, to some degree.

But Hiiro…

Yes, he hit Satoko in the head with a bat, inflicting the wound that ended her short life...but there's more to this story that tells me he didn't deserve what we just had to watch.

Because…

The one truly to blame…

Is **him**.

"You all look so down." He remarked with a smirk, looking at all of us with his signature look of superiority and smugness. "What happened, did I miss something?" He added in a sarcastic tone.

"You…" Jack said, glaring at the evil half of the Ultimate Occultist. "You were the one behind Satoko's murder, weren't you?"

**Kuro **gasped. "Who? Me? No, I would never! C'mon guys, do you really think I could do something like that?"

"Stop with the bullshit," Takahashi said. "The bear already told us you convinced Hiiro to kill Satoko somehow."

"Upupupu, that's right!" Monokuma nodded. "I was hoping you were going to come out a little earlier for a dramatic trial finale with Hiiro here, but now is A-ok too!"

"Aw man, so he tattled on me?" Kuro laughed. "Shit, guess you guys know everything now then…"

"No, we don't. You owe us answers." I said. "Why did you convince Hiiro to kill Satoko?! How did you even manage to do something like that?"

"Oh, so you don't know?" Kuro asked. "And why would I tell you anything about my business?"

"Because if you don't tell us what happened I'm going to electrocute your brain and remove you from Shiro's mind." I turned my head in surprise at the bold claim, to see Isami looking at Kuro with her usual blank expression.

Kuro simply glared at her in response.

"Hm, is there a problem?" Isami questioned, tilting her head.

"I think we're all just surprised to hear something like that come from you." Sonoda admitted, slowly backing away from the girl.

Isami shook her head. "It's just the truth...I am the Ultimate Tinkerer, who uses my talents to solve any problems that I run into. Whether that problem is something simple like a damaged motherboard, or perhaps a little more complex, like someone I care about having a less than pleasant split personality, I guarantee you that I will solve it."

"Tch, fuck you and your claims." Kuro sneered. "You know that doing electroshock therapy on our body is way too dangerous. Besides, if you really do manage to 'get rid of me', that's technically murder. After all, Shiro and I share the title of the Ultimate Occultist."

"...Maybe." Isami shrugged. "However the way I see it, if you're gone and Shiro's still here, the Ultimate Occultist would still be alive and well. _After all_, you may be listed along with Shiro on the official roster, but you're the same person and the fact that Shiro is the primary personality in your body will never change."

She has a point. Shiro and Kuro are one person living in the same body; Kuro is just a split personality of Shiro. He's not a real person (unless you believe the theory that Kuro is actually a spirit), so him being 'murdered' via electroshock therapy or something won't count as murder since Shiro and his body will still be alive, meaning the Ultimate Occultist would live on to conduct as many seances and rituals that he wants to.

On the other hand, if Isami or somebody else were to actually stab Shiro/Kuro in the heart, strangle him with a rope, or drown him in the pool, _that _would be counted as murder since the body belonging to them would be no more so both Shiro and Kuro would be dead.

"Ok, can we stop theorizing?" Mari complained. "You're making my brain hurt, and this is totally a waste of time. Let's just hear how Kuro got Hiiro to kill Satoko so that we can move on with our day."

"As cruel as it sounds, I do agree with Mari." Fran sighed. "We can discuss what we'll do with Kuro after we hear what happened."

"What you'll do with me?" Kuro scoffed. "Monokuma, these assholes can't really do anything to me, right?"

Monokuma shrugged. "Well my dear son, _technically _you aren't really a real person and are just an extension of Shiro, so in reality it doesn't really matter if anything happens to you!"

Kuro paled for a moment, before clearing his throat. "W-Whatever. I've put dozens of people in the hospital, I'll do the same to all of you if you try to put a finger on me."

"Yeah right," Takahashi sneered. "You probably weigh 90 lbs. or something, I could easily deck you in the face. I am the Ultimate fucking Pilot aft-"

"_Can you guys please stop_!" A voice pleaded. I turned my head to see a pale and distressed Koko shaking her head at us. "Please, now is not the time to argue! We need to find out what happened to Hiiro that made him kill Satoko!"

I nodded. "She and Mari are right. Entertaining Kuro's threats and comments is doing nothing but wasting our time. Kuro, spit it out already. Why'd you have Hiiro kill Satoko?"

Everyone stayed quiet, awaiting Kuro's answer. All eyes were on the white haired boy, who looked none too pleased to be bossed around by one of the people he hated the most.

Huh, come to think of it, this is the first time I'm seeing him since he almost got me killed.

I won't bring that up now, though…

"Where do I even start?" Kuro huffed. "All you guys need to know is that Hiiro killed Satoko, end of story."

"How about the _beginning _of the story?" Leonia frowned. "This would've had to be a carefully thought out plan, yes?"

"Not really," Kuro shrugged. "It was a pretty fucking simple and kinda of a heat in the moment type thing. I guess you could say it was a convenient situation for me."

"_Can we get some privacy, please?" Clara blushed. _

"_Yeah, you two need to go outside." Mari demanded. "No way are you looking at us while we're changing!"_

"_I wasn't planning on doing that anyways, but fine." Hiiro sighed. He started towards the door, while Kuro was still sitting on the bleachers, his head bowed down as he trembled every so often. _

"_That means you too, anger issues!" Mari yelled. _

_Kuro slowly lifted his head up to meet Mari's gaze. "K-Kinda busy right now. F-fuck off, I'm not going to l-look at your g-gross body…"_

"_Busy doing what?" Clara questioned. "You're just sitting there…"_

_Kuro suddenly violently trembled and hit his head. "Shut up! Stay away!"_

"_What's wrong with you?" Mari scoffed. "Just get out already so we can change!"_

_Kuro groaned, standing up and angrily storming out of the pool room. Hiiro still hadn't left yet, he was watching the boy with a confused expression. _

"_I wonder what's wrong with him." He said. _

"_He always has a problem." Mari scoffed. "I don't know why he's still allowed to roam around here."_

"_Uh, because he's a human being capable of roaming wherever he wants?" Clara sarcastically answered. "He may be a roach but he still has human rights."_

"_Takahashi has human rights too but you tried to end his life." Mari snapped back with a smirk. _

_Clara narrowed her eyes in response. _

_Hiiro shook his head and left the pool room. "Always so dramatic…" He muttered._

_When he stepped outside into the hall, he found Kuro facing a wall, muttering something to himself. _

"_I-I did it! I have b-back control!" He said in a soft tone. _

_Hiiro raised a brow. "Kuro? What's the matter with you today?"_

_Kuro (?) jumped and quickly turned around. "H-Hiiro! It's me Shiro, I f-finally got control back from Kuro!"_

_Hiiro shook his head. "Ah, trying to trick me again? Sorry, but it won't work this time."_

"_I k-know it's hard to b-believe but I p-promise it's me!" He insisted. _

_Hiiro scoffed. "Yeah, right. Just leave me alone until the girls are done in there."_

_**Shiro **__helplessly backed down from talking to Hiiro. _

"Wait a minute, hold on." Takumi interrupted. "Shiro didn't mention any of this!"

"Yes, all he said was that Hiiro and Kuro waited in the hallway until Clara and Mari were done changing." Akumu nodded.

"Then you guys went back inside and Shiro managed to take back control sometime after Hiiro, Clara, and Mari left." Evelyn continued.

"A-And then he banged his head on the anti-gravity machine to knock Kuro out…" Nadia said.

"Which is when he managed to walk over to the secret control room for the pool...which he somehow knew about." Norikazu concluded.

Kuro watched all this with a smirk on his face.

"What's so funny?" I asked. "Was Shiro not telling the truth?"

"He was telling _his _truth." Kuro replied. "But you guys seem to forget that I can withhold information from Shiro and vice versa."

"But if Shiro was the one talking with Hiiro in the hallway, wouldn't he remember?" Clara inquired.

Kuro shook his head. "Shiro's one of the weakest idiots I know. Yes he can try and gain control of our body as much as he likes, making our head hurt and our body shake, but do you really think he has enough power to overtake me _and _remember doing so? I came into his life in order to protect him from anyone who could hurt him, including himself. So it's easy as hell to make him forget certain things, if I want him too. Believe me, if I want to suppress his personality and become the dominant owner of our body, I could do it with a snap of my fingers…"

"So what're you saying?" I asked. "When Shiro took over after Hiiro, Clara, and Mari left, that was...your doing?"

"Let me finish first," Kuro smirked. "I'm still not done yet."

_With Shiro feeling dejected from being rejected by Hiiro, Kuro quickly took over the body, suppressing Shiro's personality. "Phew, I thought he might've actually gotten away with it this time…"_

_Hiiro turned to look at him. "Kuro. Are you done playing games with me?"_

"_Playing games?" Kuro repeated. "Games…"_

_He thought about the killing game they were now in…_

_Traitor/Truce…_

_The motive…_

"_Hiiro, I need you to do something for me." Kuro said. _

_Hiiro raised a brow. "Why would I ever do something for you? You've been nothing but a nuisance to all of us; a thorn in our sides that won't go away. I'm better off just ignoring you for the rest of our time aboard this ship."_

_Kuro glared at Hiiro and slowly walked up to him._

_Kuro was only 5'6", 4 inches shorter than Hiiro. But it wasn't his height that made him imposing, it was the way he stood and spoke to you, his words laced with malice. So when Kuro stood in front of Hiiro, inches away from his face, Hiiro couldn't help but gulp. _

"_W-what are you doing?" Hiiro questioned, trying to back away, but Kuro grabbed his arm. _

"_I've sent kids to the hospital for so much as looking at me and Shiro. Broken arms, broken legs...sometimes even broken necks. Shiro may be a weakling who can't do anything right, but I'll protect him and our body no matter what. Which is why you're going to kill Satoko."_

_Hiiro frowned, no longer intimidated. "What did you just say? Do you honestly think I'll kill someone for you; you must be delusion-"_

"_**I'll kill Koko**__." _

…

…

…

"Uh, sorry, did I hear that right?" Sonoda nervously laughed.

"Yeah it almost sounded like you told Hiiro that you'd kill Koko…" Takumi added with an equally awkward laugh.

"Which can't possibly be true," Akumu said. "Right?"

Koko said nothing, looking at Kuro with a stern expression.

Kuro rolled his eyes. "Can you guys just shut up and listen?"

_Hiiro instantly tensed, the vein on his forehead popping. "What did you just say?"_

"_You heard me right." Kuro scoffed. "If you don't kill Satoko, then I'll kill Koko. It's as simple as that."_

"_You're an idiot." Hiiro responded. "Mar-"_

_Kuro quickly put his hand over Hiiro's mouth and took something out of his pocket. _

"_I'll gut you right here if you try to call for Mari and Clara." Kuro said, slowly removing his hand from Hiiro's mouth. _

"_How did you even get that?!" Hiiro asked in surprise. "Seizo and Takahashi confiscated all the weapons!"_

"_With the lovely bodyguard rule gone, anything in the kitchen is up for grabs." Kuro smirked, twirling a kitchen knife with his fingers. "Now hurry up and go to the gym and kill Satoko before she leaves! If not, then you can try and call for help, but I'll stab you. You can also try and run away, but I'll __**still **__stab you. I've broken more bones than the number of coffee's you've made in your lifetime.. There's no way out of this so you might as well just do what I say."_

_Hiiro's eyes started to water. "Why...why are you doing this? Are you really that desperate to save Shiro? Just win the Traitor/Truce game and the motive won't come true!"_

"_That's not happening." Kuro answered. "After that stunt I pulled where I pretended to be Shiro, no one's going to vote to spare me now. Alternatively, I'm never going to vote to spare anyone either. At the very least, there'll always be two people left, voting to eliminate each other over and over. Look, I know this is extreme, but I'm not just being an asshole and forcing you to kill someone. There's a way you can get out of here, y'know…"_

"_What? By getting away with murder? Everyone else will die-" Hiiro couldn't finish before Kuro interrupted him. _

"_Except you and Koko." Kuro said. "And, well, me and Shiro of course." _

"_What are you talking about?" Hiiro questioned. "Monokuma's rules are very strict-"_

"_There's a loophole." Kuro claimed. "Monokuma never said that the person who delivers the finishing blow is the only one whose blackened. If you and I work together, along with Koko, then we'll all be blackened, and we'll all get away with the murder. So, what do you say? I'll tell you what to do, you have all the tools capable of getting away with it, but you need to hurry."_

"_It's kill or be killed, along with Koko." Hiiro frowned. "What choice do I have?"_

"Wow, wow, wow, is that really true, Monokuma?" Evelyn asked. "If that's the case, then a bunch of people could conspire to murder and all be blackened! Then they could all cover for each other, vote for a random person not a part of their group, and leave!"

"Upupupu...as interesting as that would be: **no**! **The blackened is the student who delivers the fatal blow to the victim**, the masterminds or co-conspirators of the murder are spotless along with everyone else!" Monokuma revealed.

"Hah, so your little theory was wrong, Kuro." Mari smirked.

Kuro simply smirked back, looking not at all bothered.

It confused me at first why Kuro didn't get upset. After all, if he truly thought that Hiiro, him, and Koko were all the blackened, then because Hiiro failed to get away with the murder and got executed, that means him and Koko would be too.

But I quickly realized why he wasn't bothered in the slightest…

"...You knew your 'theory' was wrong." I concluded. "You lied to Hiiro. You knew that there was no way he'd agree to kill anyone if there was a chance that Koko could die. Plus, he'd be confused as to why you were doing all this to keep Shiro safe, when he'd be executed right along with the rest of the spotless if Hiiro got away with it. So you lied to him, so there was no way he could refuse your threat…"

"Then why did he not say anything when he was found out as the blackened?" Clara questioned. "He would've said something like: Well Kuro's also guilty since he came up with all of this, so shouldn't he be executed too?"

"He would have, yes." Takahashi nodded. "If it wasn't for the fact that Hiiro thought there was a chance Koko would also be executed, as a fellow blackened."

"Why exactly did Hiiro think Koko would've been considered a blackened?" Fran asked. "Kuro, I can understand since he was the mastermind, but Koko had nothing to do with it."

Koko narrowed her eyes.

"**Because Koko lied for Hiiro**." I answered. "Without even realizing it."

"_I checked in here at 2:00, and when you guys didn't show up by 2:05, I went back to the game room to be with Koko." Hiiro answered._

"_You only gave them five minutes?" I deadpanned._

"_Yes." Hiiro answered bluntly. "I told Mari before that she could find me in the game room if she happened to be late, after all."_

"_Hiiro and I played the most intense game of chess ever!" Koko beamed. "If only we got to finish, I definitely would have won!" _

"_Sure…" Hiiro muttered._

* * *

"_N-no…" Koko shook her head. "No! Hiiro didn't kill Satoko! He was with me the whole time you said he was cleaning up the crime scene!" She insisted. _

"_A-and he couldn't have done it, anyway!" Koko continued. "Remember, he came to the game room as soon as he was done supervising Mari and Clara, and he we went to wait for Taka and Mari toget-"_

"_No, Koko. Don't lie for me." Hiiro said, sadly smiling. "You know that's not true."_

"_Hiiro…" Koko whispered, tears streaming down her face. _

"_In fact, you've been lying for me for quite a while, huh?" Hiiro said. "You knew I took a little longer to get to the game room after Clara and Mari were done swimming, and I took a little longer than five minutes to 'wait for Mari and Taka'..."_

"_I-I dunno…" Koko sniffed. "I've always been terrible at keeping the time."_

"Koko was Hiiro's alibi. She 'lied' for him, telling us all that he was with her during the time she thought Satoko was killed, when in reality she was at Takumi's special brunch, nowhere near Hiiro." I explained.

"Making her a type of 'co-conspirator'." Takahashi concluded.

"So that's why Hiiro believed Kuro's theory?" Leonia questioned.

"Maybe," Kuro shrugged. "Maybe not. Can't ask him now since he's dead."

"Why'd you even bother doing all that?" Jack frowned. "He would've killed...Satoko anyways, since you would've killed him if he didn't."

"Probably." Kuro nodded. "But I needed him to have motivation. Otherwise, he might've just went into the gym and not done anything to Satoko, instead hiding from me with her, or he would've killed her but very half-heartedly and not hid any of the evidence since he had no motivation to save himself if it meant Koko would be executed."

"I get it." I nodded. "With newfound motivation, Hiiro did everything you told him to do. You were the one who told him to break the stop clock, and to clean the baseball bat in the pool, weren't you?"

"Yup." Kuro nodded. "He was the one to come up with using the Senza-Sangue to clean up the blood. He told me his dilemma about not being able to take anything out of the infirmary, so I gave him my hoodie. After that, he quickly went into the gym, bonked Satoko on the head with the baseball bat, and hid her body in the air vent, putting the cover back on it."

"Which is why I didn't notice the vent was open…" Mari sighed.

"After that Clara and Mari finally let us in the pool room, where I let Shiro believe he was in control. When they left with Hiiro, he did that whole crazy ass thing of 'knocking me out of his head', and took us to the control room. It was Hiiro who did all the grunt work of cleaning up the blood, moving Satoko's body into the pool, and tying up loose ends. Well, come to think of it, he _did_ forget to put the vent cover back on. He gets all the credit for that." Kuro smirked.

"So that's it then…" I said. "You threatened Hiiro into killing Satoko. But now comes the harder question to answer: Why?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kuro scoffed. "The motive. You guys all think I was lying, but I was dead serious all those times…"

_Kuro snickered. "Oh, no one told you? I'm not just some split personality brought on by a traumatic incident Shiro went through or some shit. I'm a __**spirit **__who inhabits his body to protect him from assholes like Mari and Takahashi."_

* * *

"_Tch, why should I tell you? ...Ugh, fine. Me and Shiro both have different people. Mine is Shiro...and Shiro's is me." (This one I found pretty damn interesting. Shiro and Kuro's most important person is each other?)_

* * *

_Before leaving, he addressed us all once again. "Anybody of you assholes thinking of hurting Shiro have to go through me first. And I guarantee you I won't let you lay a finger on him."_

* * *

"_I already told you guys. I'm not letting Shiro play this game. So no matter how many theories or plans you come up with to get rid of me; I'll still be here. And I'll knock you off one by one. I'm going to win the Traitor/Truce game!"_

"I'll do whatever I have to to protect Shiro, even if it means lying through my teeth or manipulating the hell out of somebody." Kuro said, clenching his fist and looking at all of us with a serious expression.

"Satoko, Hiiro, or whoever the hell else. If it's convenient for me, then I could care less about how my actions affect others." He continued. "Shiro and I are leaving this killing game alive, I can promise all of you that right now. Whoever dies between now and then is just collateral damage for my cause."

Kuro started to walk away from his stand, starting for the elevator. "All of you mean nothing to me. You're just opponents in a video game. I'll knock you all off one by one."

We all stood silent, watching the Occultist enter the elevator. He turned and gave us one last evil smirk, and waved. We could do nothing but stare in shock.

We knew Kuro was awful, but this was a new low.

He had Satoko killed due to convenience; she was alone in the gym by herself.

And he had Hiiro do the deed due to convenience; he was with Kuro alone and could easily be threatened with anything involving harm coming to Koko.

All of this…

This whole case…

Was because of him!

All the twists and turns we were confused by, the evidence that didn't seem to make sense…

All the confusion was caused by Kuro.

Because he doesn't care about any of us…

**The only person he cares about is himself**.

"Well, there you have it!" Monokuma cackled. "The mastermind behind Satoko's murder and Hiiro's betrayal is none other than the cruel half of the Ultimate Occultist: Kuro! I for one found his plan _brilliant_! It's one for the history books, that's for sure."

"Is anyone going to go after him?" Evelyn dejectedly asked. "I feel like someone should go after him."

"What's the point?" Sonoda frowned. "He's a self-absorbed, narcissistic lunatic with a knife."

"I don't get something..." Takumi said. "Why didn't Kuro just have Hiiro kill Satoko, and then tell us that he did? That'd have made the trial go by so much faster."

"I was confused by that too," Nadia admitted. "B-But I think I know why...Kuro needed Hiiro to try and get away with the murder himself. Number one, that'd make things more interesting, which is something K-Kuro would want. And number two, we would've never believed him if he told us outright that Hiiro killed Satoko..."

"Ok, ok..." Takumi nodded. "Also, why did Kuro let Shiro have control for a little while while he talked to Hiiro?"

"I suspect he wanted Shiro to get sad or upset at Hiiro for not listening to him." Leonia theorized. "Then Kuro could have complete control since Shiro wasn't as focused at regaining control."

"Damn it!" Takahashi cursed, pounding his fist on his trial stand. "Fuck that little cunt, I should've locked him away and thrown away the key when I had the chance!"

"That'd not only be locking Kuro away, but Shiro too…" Isami sighed. "As redundant as it sounds we need to remember: Kuro and Shiro are two different personalities. It's unfair to Shiro to punish him for Kuro's actions."

"It might be worth it in the long run." Norikazu admitted. "If we had locked Kuro away earlier, then Satoko and Hiiro would be alive right now."

"We can't think like that." I quickly said. "Satoko and Hiiro may have been alive, but two other people might have not been, because…"

"We're in a killing game." Takahashi finished. "Where tensions are at an all time high and murder is something that crosses someone's mind at least once a day."

I narrowed my eyes. It was the cruel, hard truth that none of us wanted to admit.

But why? I felt so much better our first week here…

Why does everything feel so tense now?

Like someone's staring at me, waiting to plunge a knife into my back?

Oh…

That's right…

"The Traitor/Truce game." Clara said aloud. "We never did finish...Monokuma, we're free from that, right?"

Monokuma nodded. "Yes-siree! Since Satoko was murdered, the motive applying to your most important people is null and void, so there's no prize for winning the Traitor/Truce game. In conclusion, you never have to play it again: yayyy!"

He was cheering, but none of us looked happy.

Because the damage from the Traitor/Truce game had already been done.

I never really got the purpose of it, until Isami brought up how it's supposed to tear us apart.

It tore us apart for sure, but there's more than that…

It caused tension.

Anxiety.

Made us all seriously consider committing murder to escape it.

It's gone now, but it's already infected our brains with the harsh truth: everyone in here is in here for themselves, no one else. The friends you have could stab you in the back at any time to save themselves.

And you can't really blame them for it, since you'd do the same thing if given the opportunity…

We all looked at each other with a feeling of unease. Nothing would ever be as it was before; we'd never be the happy group doing team building activities with each other, or working together to plan a party.

We could still do some things, like hanging out or eating together, but there'll always be that tension there; that feeling that the person across from you could betray you at any given moment.

And it broke my heart.

I just wanted things to go back to normal...before any murders happened...before we were ever kidnapped!

We were all supposed to be students at Hope's Peak, probably going to be in the same class with each other.

If only we had met then…

Things would be so much different.

Silver…

Ritsu…

Satoko…

And Hiiro.

They'd all be alive.

We'd be friends.

They could live out the rest of their lives, doing whatever their hearts desired.

But that can never happen now…

I glanced around at everyone, all of their expressions generally the same.

Akumu was the only one trying to maintain a sad smile on his face, while Takahashi had an angry frown on rather than a sad one like everyone else.

I shook my head. This was going to be the new normal for quite a while.

* * *

After the trial, Monokuma dismissed all of us. I wanted to speak to Koko, who looked absolutely heartbroken, but she just pushed past me and went to her room.

So I did the same.

I think it was Night Time now, I'm not sure. Either way, I'm going to sleep...I didn't have the energy to do anything else.

I took off the clothes I had been wearing for the past couple of days, and did my best to wash my body with the soap and water from the sink in my bathroom.

After I was done, I changed into a clean pair of pajamas, and flopped down onto my bed. I closed my eyes, intending to conjure up a dream of my family back home, but that didn't last long.

_**Knock, knock**_

"Seriously?!" I groaned. This happened the night of Ritsu's trial, too. I sighed, slowly getting up from my bed and walking over to the door.

I cautiously opened it, hoping whoever was on the other side wasn't here to murder me…

My eyes widened in surprise. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

"We need to talk." Takahashi said, pushing past me and walking into my room. "Geez, this place is a mess."

I looked around.

My room was perfectly clean.

I rolled my eyes. "Did you really come here to taunt me?"

"No," Takahashi frowned. "I came here because I hate your guts."

"Gee, thanks." I frowned, crossing my arms.

"Because you're the only person here who's capable of being the leader, besides me." He sighed.

"What are you talking about?" I questioned. "Since when have I displayed any leadership qualities?"

"You haven't." Takakashi answered. "You're capable of doing so, though. All the rest of these losers either have too low of an IQ score that they can't shut the fuck up and stay serious, or too high that they have a stick up their asses and are on the verge of being psychopaths. But you're not like the rest of them. You're annoying as hell with your stupid ass smirk and holier than thou attitude, but you're probably the most normal guy here...besides me."

"What are you saying?" I asked. "Do you want me to replace you as leader? Because that actually sound likes a great idea and I'll glad-"

"Fuck no." Takahashi quickly responded. "You'd get us all killed in less than a day. What I'm saying is that...I want you to work with me. Keep assholes like Kuro under control and try to prevent any more deaths."

"Oh…" I slowly nodded. "Uh, yeah, I guess that's a good idea…"

"Additionally, you and I are going to start finding out how to get of this place." Takahashi smirked.

"Because that worked out so well before." I frowned, remembering the days of Takahashi's 'Team Looking for an Escape'.

"Tch, we're not doing that shit again. What I'm talking about is coming up with other ideas." He explained. "...More _risky _ideas." He added in a quieter tone, giving me a serious look.

"Oh...Oh!" I realized. Takahashi doesn't want to just look around the ship, looking for a way out of here. He wants to get out of here by any means possible, even if it means over throwing a certain mechanical pilot…

"We'll talk in the morning." He said, starting for the door. He opened it and turned to look at me. "This doesn't make us friends, D-Lister. I'm just using you to get out of here."

I smirked. "I know, douchebag. Trust me, I'd never be friends with you."

He rolled his eyes, walking out of the door and closing it behind him.

I sighed, sitting down on my bed. So we're going to start trying to break out of this place, huh?

We could get killed trying to do so...but we could also get killed just sitting around.

This won't be easy, or a two man job. We're going to need to do a lot more and find some people to help us out…

But the question is: who the hell can we trust?!

* * *

A blonde man and a purple haired girl, sat in a small room together.

They were wearing business attire, and sitting on the floor for some strange reason.

"We've been in here long enough." The blonde man sneered. "Let's just get out of here already."

"Don't be a fool." The purple haired girl sternly said. "You know we'd never make it out there on the outside. There's more of them than us, and we'd be recognized immediately if we tried anything reckless."

"So what?" The blonde man frowned. "We're just supposed to be their captives, staying in this room until it's all over?"

"Maybe." The purple haired girl answered. "Maybe not. Either way, we can't do anything about it. It's out of both of our hands...and Makoto's."

"Naegi…" The blonde man said. "What the hell was he thinking?"

"We're not doing this now…" The purple haired girl said. "Not to sound dramatic, but I frankly don't have the energy to argue with you…"

The blonde man rolled his eyes. "Typical, always taking his side…"

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and a hooded figure stepped inside.

The purple haired girl and the blonde man did not look pleased upon seeing him.

"Heizo." The blonde man scoffed. "How gracious of you to grace us with your presence."

"Don't give me that." The figure presumably known as 'Heizo' spoke. "You know that I'd rather not be in this position, but it was Makoto who suggested it."

Heizo took two food bars out of his pocket, handing them to the blonde man and purple haired girl. "Just try to relax, it won't be much longer...I hope."

"You hope?" The blonde man repeated. "Hope is exactly what caused this in the first place!"

"You're wrong, and you know it." Heizo frowned. "Look, we'll fix this. I'll play the part and you two just sit here quietly."

"Easier said than done." The purple haired girl said. "How can we trust you? We trusted everyone else and look where it got us."

Heizo sighed. "Look, like I said; it won't be much longer. We'll get you out of here."

A loud knock sounded from the other side of the door.

"Time's up." Heizo said. "I'm not supposed to spend this much time talking to prisoners."

"Be careful, Heizo." The blonde man smirked. "They might suspect you and throw you in here with the rest of us."

"Please," Heizo scoffed. "They could never suspect anyone with my charm."

The purple haired girl chuckled. "That's one thing you got right."

Heizo smiled and started for the door.

"Heizo-" The blonde man called. "How many so far? And who?"

Heizo narrowed his eyes. "You know it's better if I don't say-"

"_Who_?" The blonde man asked again.

Heizo sighed. "This time around it was Rose and Frost. Shadow also played a part but he's still in."

"Well he might as well be out," The purple haired girl frowned.

The blonde man shook his head. "I told him this was a bad idea…"

Heizo sighed, walking out of the room.

A man was waiting outside for him, and once he saw that Heizo was done speaking with the blonde man and purple haired girl, he locked the door.

Heizo smiled at him, and walked away, as the man stayed behind to guard the door.

"I wish I could do something more, but for now I'll have to play the part…"

* * *

Chapter 2 - Heaven With You (**END**)

* * *

**Surviving Students**

1\. Seizo Morine (Crimson) - Ultimate Actor

2\. Akumu Tsubasa (Azure) - Ultimate Cryptid Enthusiast

3\. Clara Odette (Scarlet) - Ultimate Modern Dancer

**4\. Satoko Kiyomizu (Rose) - Ultimate Prodigy (2V)**

5\. Mari Tamatsuki (Royal) - Ultimate Runway Model

6\. Koko Kagawa (Cherry) - Ultimate Food Critic

**7\. Hiiro Sayoama (Frost) - Ultimate Barista (2K)**

8\. Sonoda Eisen (Onyx) - Ultimate Salesman

9\. Isami Kanagi (Lava) - Ultimate Tinkerer

10\. Evelyn Bryant (Merigold) - Ultimate Translator

**11\. Ritsu Kuroyama (Noir) - Ultimate Spy (1K)**

12\. Shiro/Kuro (Cloud/Shadow) - Ultimate Oculist

13\. Leonia Taylor (Diamond) - Ultimate Photoshoot Choreographer

**14\. Silver - Ultimate TV Host (1V)**

15\. Takahashi Jirou (Sunrise) - Ultimate Pilot

16\. Nadia Levitsky (Indigo) - Ultimate Daredevil

17\. Francesca Croft (Emerald) - Ultimate Archaeologist

18\. Jack Masaki (Mauve) - Ultimate Dealer

19\. Norikazu Kanno (Sage) - Ultimate Illustrator

20\. Takumi Kyoshi (Cotton) - Ultimate Escapist

Normal = Alive

_Italicized = In Danger_

**Bold = Deceased (V = Victim, K = Killer, P = Punished)**

* * *

_A/N_: **Thank you guys so much for reading. This ends chapter 2, as well as the first 'arc' of the story. This isn't my favorite chapter, I feel like it would've worked better in the previous chapter, but that would've made it too long, so I'm not sure...Anyways, Discord friends, get why I said this was my least favorite chapter of the story?**

**From here on out, things are going to start go get interesting, as we see our 'Main Trio' coming to light, only things'll be slightly different...**

**Thank you so much to the creators of Satoko and Hiiro for submitting your characters to this story. They will forever have a place in my heart. Look forward to seeing them in future chapters...**

**Any theories about what the hell is going on? We've learned a little bit more about Heizo and we got to 'meet' two characters...**


	25. The Ultimate Spies (Part 1)

The Ultimate Spies (Part 1)

* * *

"Oh, look who it is."

My heart almost jumped out of my chest. I could've sworn I went to bed last night by myself; so why am I hearing voices?

I hesitantly opened my eyes to reveal a sight I'd never thought I'd get to see again.

"Took you long enough, Mr. Crimson…" Said the voice of a silver-haired gentleman.

"I was starting to think you were never going to wake up." A girl wearing a tattered black t-shirt smirked.

"I've missed you so much!" An intelligent looking girl cried out. "I thought I'd never get to say goodbye!"

I turned my head to see the final figure in the room, an apron-wearing boy standing away from the rest of the group. He wouldn't look me in the eye, instead nervously staring at the ground. "A-ahem. Long time no see, Seizo…"

These voices…

These faces…

They're all…

**The deceased captives of the killing game!**

Silver, Ritsu, Satoko, and Hiiro, all staring at me with various looks of smugness, joy, and awkwardness.

"W-what the hell?!" I gasped, jumping out of my bed. My heart was beating a mile a minute and all traces of exhaustion left my body as pure adrenaline pumped through me. "How is this possible?! You guys...**y-you're dead**! I mean, Ritsu and Hiiro, I saw you die with my own eyes!"

How could I ever forget? The lasers cutting across Ritsu's body...the boiling hot coffee melting Hiiro's...it's a sight that'll haunt me forever.

"Are you really that dense?" Ritsu chuckled. "This is **a dream**, obviously."

Satoko nodded with a sad smile on her pale face. It was then that I noticed the four of them looked like themselves...as if they were ghosts. Pale skin, semi-transparent bodies, and their clothes ruined depending on how they died.

Satoko, for example, was dripping wet.

"You're in the REM stage of sleep right now-where your brain activity is at its highest." She started to explain. "You're dreaming of us in particular because you're _constantly_ thinking of us. Your brain basically can't think of anything else to dream of!"

"I'm flattered that you'd think of me of all people." Silver admitted. He had a trail of blood leading from his mouth, representing the poisoned Long Island Iced Tea he drank that ended his life. "I mean, I didn't really get to leave the mark I thought I would, hm? The Ultimate TV Host should've been a lot more charming..."

"Didn't get to leave a mark?" I repeated with a frown. "That's not true at all. Silver, there's so many questions I've been meaning to ask you. To begin with, why did you have that note with our names on it?"

"Ah, I apologize, Mr. Crimson." Silver sighed, dabbing at his mouth with a handkerchief. "That is a question I cannot answer. Remember, I'm not really Silver, just your brain's own interpretation of him."

"We only know what you know about us." Hiiro nodded. His skin was covered in burns. "So we can't talk about anything we didn't tell you or that you didn't find out about us."

"Sorry about that," Ritsu sighed, twirling her ponytail with one of her fingers. Her skin was also burned, but the marks were lines rather than all over the place like Hiiro. "That's the pesky thing about dreams, isn't it? You want answers like, does this person like me? Are they lying to me? What's their true intentions? But sadly, all your brain can do is theorize and wonder. You'll never truly know what you want to."

I sighed, sitting back down on my bed. Why am I dreaming about this right now? There must be some reason…

I've always had pretty vivid dreams since I was a kid. Ever since I started acting, it was like my brain couldn't turn off the part where I was in make believe scenarios, like what movies and dreams both are.

"It shouldn't be a problem, though." Satoko said. "You do know a lot of things about us. More than most other people do."

"Huh, what are you talking about?" I asked. I only knew them for a couple of days; why would I know them better than most?

"That's right, you wouldn't remember, would you?" Silver sighed, sadly frowning. "Those memories are locked up somewhere real tight."

"Someday soon, he'll remember." Hiiro said confidently. "He has to realize who the mastermind is and put an end to their plans, after all."

Mastermind? Is he talking about the one who kidnapped us and forced us to play the killing game?

"I'm afraid it might be impossible." Ritsu claimed, looking concerned. "Seizo is only Seizo, after all. He wouldn't be able to remember what someone else did or went through."

"I wouldn't be so doubtful," Silver smiled. "Mr. Crimson is the Ultimate Actor, he should be able to realize what's going on."

"Uh, how does being the Ultimate Actor make me capable of figuring out who put us in here?" I deadpanned. "I know how to act as characters in movies and TV shows, not how to find out who kidnapped 20 Ultimate students and took them to outer space."

"**19**." Satoko corrected. "Don't worry, you'll understand someday soon. I'm sure you can beat him!"

Him? 19? But at the beginning there were 20 of us…

20 of us…

…

Unless Satoko is trying to say that…

**One of us is the mastermind**.

"I think it's time for us to go now." Hiiro said, looking at the door.

"Yes, it's time for you to awaken." Silver nodded, straightening his tie and smiling at me.

"See ya later, Morine." Ritsu waved. "Try a little harder to figure things out, ok? Wouldn't want my death to be for nothing."

"Please stay strong for the others." Satoko pleaded. "I know things are tough right now, but fighting and arguing with each other won't do anyone any good."

"Wait no!" I called, reaching my hand out. "You can't go yet! C'mon, I don't know what to do!"

But it was too late.

They were already gone…

* * *

"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 7 AM, which means that nighttime is officially over! Time to get up out of bed. Let's all welcome this new day with an open heart and mind! "

I woke up with a startle, my body sweaty and my chest tight.

Ugh, that damn dream...it just made me more confused than anything else, to be honest.

But whatever, it's only a dream, right?

Not like some deadly premonition that's going to come back to haunt me later and wish I spoke to the others about it and did more about it, haha…

I shook my head. Life isn't some best selling horror-mystery video game (even though our time on this ship so far could be made into something like that). I'll be fine!

I jumped out of bed and nodded. It was my first full day back since being eliminated. Even though yesterday was hard, I'm determined to have a good day today! Hopefully if I keep a positive attitude, things will go back to normal...well, normal as they can be with four of us gone...

I felt gross and sweaty from not taking a shower in days, so I gathered up some clean clothes and my toiletries and headed for the shower room.

* * *

The showers were empty, much to my relief.

I picked a random one, undressed, and started to take a nice hot shower to burn the scent of death off of me.

Woo-hoo! This water feels great! It was _kinda _gross seeing all the dirt and grime that had accumulated on my body wash down the drain, but it was also oddly satisfying. Hopefully I'll never be trapped in a room with my leg chained to the ground again…

As I continued to shower, thoughts of home and comfort in my head, I heard the door slowly creak open, which made my heart skip a beat.

"Ugh, hello?" I called out, trying to listen for any footsteps.

…

…

…

No response.

Oh shit...I am about to be murdered?!

Tensions _are _at an all time high between everyone right now, so it wouldn't be surprising if someone snapped the day after Satoko was murdered. Plus, no one would be expecting it so it'd be a huge shock that'd throw off the investigation and trial.

But damn, does this have to happen now? Can I at least get dressed first? I don't want anyone investigating my naked dead body...

"Seizo!" A voice called. "I knew it was you."

I could see the silhouette of a figure outside, leaning against the lockers.

Judging by his voice and the smug way he's leaning against the lockers…

I think it's safe to say the voice belongs to the one and only **Sonoda Eisen**.

"Sonoda?" I said, breathing a sigh of relief as I relaxed. "What're you doing in here? Come to take a shower or something?"

Sonoda shook his head. "No, no. I was actually looking for you!"

…

I awkwardly laughed. "Well, uh, I'm kind of busy right now, man. Maybe we can talk when I'm finished showering?"

"Oh, this won't take long." Sonoda claimed. "I just wanted to ask if you would be open to attending the next meeting of the HFH Enterprise **Official **Bank! As an actor whose most likely dealt with a large amount of money in the past, you would be a valuable asset to our team, and I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on our organization thus far."

…

Is this guy serious?

"For real?" I asked. "Don't you think there's better things to be worried about than your bank? I mean, Satoko and Hiiro just died, and we have a psychopath among our ranks."

Sonoda nodded along as I talked. "Yes, yes, all valid points. However, wouldn't a meeting such as mine serve as a little distraction? I'm not trying to erase or forget about the events that have happened lately, I'm simply trying to get back to a sense of normalcy. That is what we _all _want, correct?"

I couldn't see his face through the shower curtain, but his tone _did _sound sincere, so I don't think he's acting.

Normalcy, huh? That's something I've definitely been trying to get back to…

I sighed, shaking my head. I'm always so quick to talk back to people, I need to work on that in the future. I may be a rich, attractive, talented, young, virtuous, healthy, kind, loving, charitable, esteemed, famous, wealthy, good looking, likable, and charming actor, but I'm no better than anyone else.

"Sure, Sonoda." I said. "When do you guys meet? I'll be there."

"**Tomorrow right after the morning announcement**!" He answered. "That means you should wake up a few minutes before to get ready to be there on time."

I nodded. "Fine with me, I'll just go to bed a little earlier tonight."

Sonoda nodded in response. "Perfect. I will see you then, Seizo."

With that, the salesman made his leave.

I sighed in relief. It was pretty weird having a conversation while naked, especially with someone like Sonoda…

* * *

After showering, I made my way towards the dining room.

Just like every other day, however, I was stopped. This time by a black and purple haired card dealer.

Jack looked relatively composed, but I noticed slight bags under his eyes. He must not have slept well given all that happened yesterday…Especially because of **her**.

"Good morning, Seizo." Jack nodded. "I wanted to talk, if that's fine with you."

"Of course." I said. "Anytime, man."

Jack sighed. "Alright...Well, I just wanted to say...**thank you**. I know you went through a lot with being held captive in Heaven or Hell, but nonetheless, you worked hard and managed to find Satoko's killer. The circumstances may have been...unique, to say the least, but you managed to find out who did it anyways."

He held out one of his gloved hands, and I took it, shaking it.

"I know I'm not the most emotional or outgoing guy, but I really am thankful. Satoko was a good person, it's a shame her life ended so soon." Jack continued, retracting his hand and narrowing his eyes.

I nodded with a sad smile. "I understand, don't worry about it. You're allowed to grieve in your own way, and take as much time to do so. I always got your back, no matter what."

Jack offered a very slight smile in return. "Oh, speaking of...there's something I've been wondering. Back then, why did you lie for me? You hardly knew me. Hell, you hardly know me even now."

"Huh?" I asked. "Back when?"

Jack chuckled. "Ah, you can't remember? It was during the first trial…"

"_I was right next to Mauve during the entirety of Sage and Sunrise's argument!" I said confidently. "We even laughed about it when Sage pushed Sunrise, because of how stupid we thought they were being."_

"_What?" Sage raised a brow. "I thought you yourself said that you were all so focused on our argument that you didn't see the killer escape, but you were able to notice Mauve?"_

"_Well, I mean yeah," I chuckled. "He was right next to me, after all. I wasn't that hammered that I didn't notice him…"_

_Mauve immediately shot me a look, almost as if to say: "What the hell are you doing?"_

_But I simply shook my head and gave him a look that said: "Shhh, just let it happen…"_

"_And why didn't you mention this earlier?" Royal angrily questioned._

"_I just remembered," I explained. "My mind was still a little foggy from the alcohol, y'know."_

"Oh!" I realized, laughing. "_That_. Well, uh, if I'm being honest: I don't know. I know we only knew each other for a short amount of time, but I just got good vibes from you. You seem like a chill and good guy, I think we would've been friends if it hadn't been for this whole killing game thing."

Jack nodded. "I see. I think the same of you, you're one of the few people in here who I can trust. And yes, it is a shame that we're in this killing game, where we all inherently view each other as enemies no matter how hard we try to think otherwise…"

"Yeah...Speaking of the first trial, that is one viewpoint Ritsu had right." I said. "She had only known us for such a short amount of time, Silver included. I still think murder is wrong, but she thought the guy was suspicious and did what she felt was right to try and get out of here. Kuro, on the other hand…"

"Yes, he simply wants to knock us off one by one for the fun of it and for his own benefit." Jack frowned. "Satoko was probably the person here most undeserving of what happened to her, and yet he still chose to have her killed due to it being convenient for him…Ah, that reminds me."

"Hm?" I asked. "Reminds you of what?"

"Sorry to change the topic of conversation, but what you said before, about Ritsu." Jack explained, glancing at the door leading to our bedrooms. "I was thinking, and as the Ultimate Spy, plus the fact that she was looking for a way out, I feel like she must have known more than she let on. Her room probably has a bunch of things that could help us out…"

"Well, if she did find something else that was important, don't you think she would tell us?" I asked.

We originally thought Ritsu was some hyperactive rabbit who did way too much LSD, but then it turned out it was all some sort of act that she kept to keep people from being suspicious of her. In actuality, she was a cold and calculating spy who found a note given to Silver that had our real names on it, and had been planning on killing Silver for quite a while.

Jack frowned. "Maybe...but then again, she only had a few minutes before...well, you know."

Hm, that is true. Plus, Monokuma was right there and she had to obtain permission from him in order to show us the note. So it would make sense that she didn't say anything more...plus, there was the whole 'about to be executed' thing that was probably weighing on her mind.

"_You all didn't see what I did." Noir frowned. "Trust me, it made all the difference in my decision."_

"_What do you mean?" I asked. "What'd you see?"_

_Noir sighed, before shaking her head. "I can't s-"_

"_Go ahead!" Monokuma suddenly said. "It doesn't matter now, anyways! The plan is finally complete!"_

_Noir's eyes widened. "What? What are you talking about?"_

"_Upupu…" Monokuma cackled. "You can share what you found is what I mean! Nothing will happen, I promise!" He added, putting his paw on his 'heart'._

Did Ritsu really know more? It sucks that we can't find out, I vaguely remember Monokuma saying something about not being allowed in the dead people's rooms…

"Anyways, it's just a theory I had." Jack said. "I've been trying to work harder at finding a way out of here. I don't want what happened to Satoko to happen to any of the rest of us ever again."

"I understand." I nodded. "If I ever find out anything, I'll let you know, man."

Jack nodded one last time, and then took his leave into the dining room.

I sighed. Nowadays all we do is theorize and look for ways out of here...If only we could actually have fun for once and get along like we would've if we were classmates instead of fellow captives…

I shook my head. I was thinking unrealistically, _too _hopeful. It's good to have optimism and all that, but I can't get my hopes up _too _high, otherwise, as cruel as it sounds: I might end up like Satoko…

I took a deep breath, and followed Jack into the dining room, mentally preparing myself for what I was about to walk into.

* * *

Everyone was present, sitting at their own tables and having their own separate, quiet conversations. Things _looked _pretty tame, but I could see people sneaking uneasy glances at each other every so often.

I took a moment to look around at the various groups. Now that we've been in here for a while, everyone has kind of formed their own 'cliques', the people they feel closest with and trust the most (or in Mari's case, the people she can manipulate easily).

It wasn't like high school or anything, where they were all super close friends who went to festivals and date cafe's together; it was more like they shared common interests and goals, which made them...bonded, in some strange way (despite the fact that we're in a "every man for himself" killing game).

Seeing as there were four tables, there were four different groups who ate together.

The first one consists of what I'd call "The Wallflowers". They don't really vibe with anyone but each other. In this group are Isami, Norikazu, and Shiro (evident by the fact that he's currently crying, muttering "I'm sorry" over and over again while Isami and Norikazu awkwardly try to comfort him).

The second group are basically all the loudmouths, with a couple of odd balls mixed in. I guess technically they're "The Popular Kids"? I dunno. It's clear who the leaders of the group are, as opposed to who the followers are. Takahashi, Mari, Sonoda, Clara, Takumi, and Nadia all sit at this crowded table, having taken a chair from Isami, Norikazu, and Shiro's table to accommodate their large numbers.

The third group is what I like to call "The Girl Gang", as everyone who sits at the table happens to be a girl. They're all smart, intelligent, and sassy at times, but they're all generally good people. Leonia, Evelyn, Fran, and Koko (having had to leave her two person group with Hiiro due to his untimely death) are the members of this group. I assume if Ritsu were still around, she'd also be a part of it too…

The last group...is everyone else. People who don't really fit in anywhere else, or people who just don't simply care about being in a group. An appropriate name would be…"The Outsiders", not in a negative "social outcast" type of way, just in the fact that they just don't care to fit in with everyone else. Its members are Jack, Akumu...and well, me, I guess. We're all either friends with everyone (Akumu and I) or don't really care about anyone (Jacky Boy). Satoko also would be a member if she were still alive today, and I'm guessing Silver would be too, fitting into the friends with everyone category.

I sighed, watching as everyone did their own thing. It was a pretty depressing sight. Shiro crying, Mari berating her 'friends', Koko sobbing as Fran and Evelyn attempted to comfort her, and Akumu talking to a very uninterested and exhausted Jack.

What happened to the days where all the tables were together and we laughed like friends? That first week when we planned a whole party for one of our own?

Who am I kidding…? It's obvious who's to blame…

That damn animatronic, Charles Entertainment Cheese rip off!

Always messing things up for us...I mean, _first _he makes us play this whole killing game thing, and _then _he gives us motive after motive that causes distrust and fear between us. We can't win with him around!

Yesterday, Takahashi mentioned to me that he wants to try and overthrow him...I still have no idea how that's going to work out, but it's the only way that'll be able to get us back to normal, and it'll bring us one step closer to going back home.

Alright, time to get grafting! If I want us all to be friends again, then talking to everyone should be the ever important first step!

I slowly approached The Wallflowers, careful not to startle the bleary-eyed Shiro.

"Good morning, you three." I smiled, walking up to them.

Isami looked up at me, her golden eyes looking slightly tired today. "...Good morning."

Norikazu sighed. "As you can tell we've been trying to get Shiro to relax practically all morning...He even woke us up last night because he couldn't stop crying."

"I-It's not my f-fault…" Shiro insisted, looking up at me. "K-Kuro keeps yelling at me! C-Calling me stupid…"

"Then why don't you just tell him to, well, 'shut up'?" Norikazu questioned.

"Nori…" Isami sighed, shaking her head at the illustrator. "You know it's not that simple, especially for someone like Shiro…"

Noirkazu frowned. "Well of course it isn't simple, but if he doesn't like it, then he could stand to gain something if he just stood up for himself. His weak state of mind is the reason Kuro's able to take over and cause trouble so freely."

"How is he supposed to stand up for himself _against _himself?" Isami argued back, giving Norikazu a very slight dirty look.

"G-Guys…" Shiro sniffed. "I'm right h-here…"

The two didn't seem to hear him, however, as they continued to argue…

I nervously backed away from the confrontation. Ok, so I guess this group isn't up for talking right now…

I moved onto the next group, hoping for a better conversation that didn't involve arguing.

Ah, Clara and Takumi are in this group, so we should have a nice chat.

"Hey, guys." I waved, walking over to The Popular Kids' table.

"Get lost, D-Lister." Takahashi demanded, not even bothering to look me in the eye as he lounged back in his chair with his feet on the table.

"C'mon man, that's not very nice." I frowned.

"Do you think I care about being nice?" Takahashi scoffed. "It's 8 in the morning and there's already 4 people I don't care about invading my personal space, I don't need a 5th."

"...4, huh?" Clara repeated, glancing around the table. "But there's 5 of us, not including yourself."

"Yeah, so if there were _4 _people you didn't care about, then there's _1 _you _do _care about that's sitting here right now." Takumi surmised. "Wow, I wonder who it is?! Is it me, by any chance? We _did _investigate the ship together on our first day here, so maybe you developed some feelings of attachment towards me, and I mean who could blame y-"

"Shut up!" Takahashi angrily yelled, slamming his foot down on the table. "I could care less about some string bean with the world's worst hair cut."

"H-hey!" Takumi frowned, patting his hair down in embarrassment.

"It's obviously me, right?" Sonoda chuckled. "After all, we have shared many a conversation involving a variety of subjects, and my HFH Enterprise **official **bank idea has really interested you, ri-"

"Hell no." Takahashi sneered. "Honestly the only reason I'm entertaining that stupid ass idea is to give you something to do that will keep you busy and away from me."

"Ah, I see…" Sonoda slowly nodded, narrowing his eyes.

"U-Um, is it me, by any ch-" Nadia nervously started to ask, until Takahashi gave her a frightening look that quickly shut her up.

"Ok…" She nodded, sniffing and bowing her head.

"It's _obviously _me." Mari smirked, flipping her hair in Clara's face. "I mean, I'm the one whose spent the most time with Taka! We even went on a date and I totally got to feel up his abs."

"Um, that quickly ended with you and him discovering Satoko's corpse." Clara deadpanned, scooting her chair away from Mari.

Mari simply glared at her in response.

"Can you guys keep it down and forget about it," Takahashi muttered, closing his eyes. "I'm trying to get some rest and you losers are making it really hard to do that."

"No way, I want to know which one of us you care about!" Takumi demanded, crossing his arms.

"Um, I'm kind of curious too…" Nadia admitted, blushing and twirling a piece of her black hair.

"Fuck me…" Takahashi groaned, covering his ears as his table mates berated him with questions.

I backed away. This was clearly none of my business.

Takahashi was either too much of a prideful asshole to admit who he cared about...or he's too much of a prideful asshole to admit that he simply misspoke.

I sighed, rolling my eyes at their antics. At least they weren't arguing over something serious like Shiro, Isami, and Norikazu.

I turned to walk towards "The Girl Gang"...

And wanted to turn right back around as I noticed what was going on.

From where I stood, I could spot a crying Koko, with Fran and Evelyn comforting her, patting her back as she wept. Also sitting at the table was Leonia, who seemed to be telling Koko something.

I gulped, and nervously approached them.

"Um, morning." I said in a soft tone. Adding a good in front of that didn't feel right considering everything Koko's been through in the last 24 hours...

Koko looked up at me, quickly rubbing her eyes and mustering up a small smile. "O-Oh, um, good morning Seizo."

Fran sadly smiled. "Good morning. I hope your day started out better than poor Koko over here. She insists that she's feeling fine, but it's quite clear that she isn't..."

"_Buena_, Seizo." Evelyn nodded. "It's good to see you looking well, it's still so crazy to think I thought you and Fran were dead just a day ago…"

"Good morning, Seizo." Leonia said, adjusting her eyeglasses as she looked up at me. "Did you shower? I have to say, you're looking especially nice and put together today."

Wow! The other two groups barely acknowledged me, but now these lovely ladies are giving me all the attention. It's no wonder that they're my favorite group here!

I smirked. "Well, to answer all of your questions, I-"

I couldn't even answer _one _of them before Koko started crying again.

"I-I'm sorry, Seizo!" She said in between sobs. "I know you told me to try and stay positive after Ritsu died, and I really have been trying, but now Satoko _and _Hiiro are gone too! They're all people I was close with...it's almost like I'm a d-death magnet!"

"Well, Silver also died and you weren't close with him!" Fran said, presumably in an attempt to cheer Koko up.

Koko simply looked at her and started to cry harder.

"Francesca!" Leonia chastised. "That was rather blunt, and that's saying something coming from myself…"

"My apologies!" Fran quickly said. "I didn't mean to upset you even more, I was just trying to explain to you how you're most definitely _not _responsible for anyone's deaths. I understand it may feel that way due to your relationship with them and the circumstances surrounding it, but I can assure you that you're not a murderer or even an accomplice! You're a great person, Koko, and you should never blame yourself for something so horrible."

Evelyn nodded along as Fran spoke. "_Tochno_. Exactly. At the end of the day, we all know who the real person is to blame. **Monokuma**, without a doubt. He's the one who gave us those twisted motives, warping our minds and causing us to think unjust things. Some of us have been able to resist his temptations, but others unfortunately gave in. You had nothing to do with that, so don't think for a second that you're responsible."

"I may not know you very well, but it is clear to me that you're one of the kinder ones among our group." Leonia remarked. "Everything you do, you do with good intentions in mind. You don't have malicious intent or want to hurt anybody; you simply want to be kind and become friends with as many people as possible. You're probably the only person left here with a completely pure heart, if I'm being honest. You are not a death magnet, a killer, or a bad person. You're simply a good person trapped in a stressful, evil, and horrible situation that'd make anyone doubt themselves."

Koko stared at the three in awe as they gave her words of encouragement. Even I felt like shedding a tear or two! _This _is exactly what I mean when I say we could all get along! Giving each other words of encouragement, uplifting each other instead of putting each other down, _that's _what I want. We don't have to all be BFFs, like how Koko and Leonia aren't really that close, we just need to respect one another and recognize the fact that at the end of the day, we're all just human beings going through a rough ass time.

Koko's tears slowly came to a halt. She wiped her eyes free of any stray tears, cleared her throat, and put on a small, but noticeable smile. "Thank you, guys...I really needed to hear that. I'm still not completely ok, and not _totally _convinced that I'm not a death magnet, but I'll try to think a little more positively from now on...Losing Hiiro was hard, but I'm still alive, and I can't spend all my time crying! Right, Seizo?"

I smiled at the food critic. A few days ago, I didn't know if Koko could ever get to this point. But, after that conversation with her in the game room, as well as this conversation with her now, I now know that she's capable of anything. She's a much stronger girl than she lets on; despite all the losses she's been through, she's still standing.

"I'll take things one step at a time." Koko declared. "It won't be easy peasy lemon squeezy, but with you fries by my side salad, I peel like I can handle any onion ring!"

…

…

…

"Too soon, Koko…" Fran deadpanned, staring in horror at the food critic.

"Y-Yeah, for real…" Evelyn agreed, nervously wiping sweat off her brow.

"Huh?" Koko questioned, tilting her head. "What did I do wrong?"

Leonia looked quite pale. "The puns, Koko...The puns…"

I was going to throw up in disgust if I stayed there for any longer, so I quickly took my leave.

Phew, those were some exhausting interactions. Between The Wall Flowers' passive aggressive arguing, The Popular Kids' full on aggressive arguing, and The Girl Gang's...whatever that was, I was ready to relax with my fellow outsiders.

Jack and Akumu looked perfectly content sitting by themselves. Akumu turned to me as I approached them.

"Morning, Crim." He waved.

I waved back, taking my seat. "Good morning, Az. Feeling good today?"

Akumu nodded, gesturing to his breakfast. "Definitely. It's great to not be all chained up in a room against your will with no food and water!"

I laughed. "Yeah, that sucked...Thanks for being there for me, even if you didn't really have a choice. You and Fran made things a whole lot better, I probably would've gone insane if I was on my own."

"Anytime, bud." Akumu grinned. "I know the room we were in was called 'Heaven or Hell', but honestly it just felt like Heaven with you. I've found that being next to you really calms me down!"

"Oh, uh, thanks." I nodded, a little flustered.

"I felt that same way with Satoko…" Jack remarked. He was staring into the void, probably wishing Satoko was here instead of Akumu and I.

Poor guy.

"Ah, speaking of Satoko, I forgot to show you this, Jack." Akumu said. He pulled a notecard out of the pocket of his hoodie. "I found this letter in my room last night. I'm pretty sure Satoko slipped it under my door."

"Wait, really?" I asked, stunned. "That's awesome, it could provide some closure. What does it say?"

"Yeah, did it mention me anywhere in there?" Jack questioned, looking quite interested.

"See for yourself," Akumu answered, handing the letter to Jack. I leaned over his shoulder to read along.

_To whom it may concern,_

_I'm not sure who's the one reading this. I slipped it under Akumu's door, but who knows who got to it first. I wanted to explain my intentions to someone, as I'm not sure I'll be alive for much longer…_

_Tonight, I found a vent in the gym's equipment room. Through some careful analysis of the ship's layout, I assume that it leads to the room at the end of the hallway. I believe that this room is being used to hold Seizo, Francesca, and Akumu captive. The vent cover is tightly secured to the wall, but I believe that with enough force, it can be pried open. _

_I'm exhausted after such a long day, so my rescue mission is unfortunately going to have to wait until tomorrow. Hopefully then I'll have enough energy and strength to get the cover off. _

_I worry for my safety because what I'm doing is most likely against the rules of the Traitor/Truce game. I suspect if Monokuma finds out, I'll be punished. Of course I'm trying to be as safe as possible, but I'm sure there's cameras and other equipment tracking our every move._

_I'm writing this letter to say goodbye, if I do end up getting punished. I'm leaving it to Akumu because I know you're alive, and I know you'll eventually find this note. You were one of the people I was closest to in here; my first friend. I'll never forget you, and please, live on for me and find out the truth of this killing game. _

_And to someone else who I hold dear...Jack. You never managed to not annoy me and I feel my blood boiling just thinking about your cheating ways, but I can't deny the connection between us. I know you're a good guy, deep down. I know you don't always smile and are never really cheerful like the rest of us, but you care for your friends and would protect them with your life. You've supported me the most out of anybody; without you, I'd probably think I was crazy. Thank you, Jack. I truly value you as a person, please don't give up on making friends and opening up more now that I'm gone. _

_Well, that's pretty much it, I think! I've said all I needed to say. _

_(If someone gets this letter and I'm actually alive and well, then please disregard!)_

_Respectfully, _

_Satoko Kiyomizu_

…

Jack looked at the letter with no emotion. No tears, smile, or even a shred of a frown. He looked pretty much how he always did.

Akumu awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Not going to lie, I may have shed a few tears while reading it. Makes you realize she's really gone…"

I nodded. "It sucks. She should be here right now, helping to figure out the truth...but instead it's left to us."

Jack handed the note back to Akumu, not saying a word.

"Uh, are you ok?" I asked, concerned. Considering Jack's previous outburst following Satoko's death, I would've expected him to be more emotional.

Jack sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "In all honesty, no. I miss the sound of her voice, her smile, and even the time's she'd argue with me. But, I'm done crying and getting all emotional. I know she wouldn't want me to spend my days being dark and broody. Like she said in the letter, we need to work towards finding out the truth of the killing game and getting out of here."

Damn.

The Jack I met on the first day would've probably pushed everyone away from him and would've been fine just spending time by himself, waiting out his days on the ship. But this Jack is different. He's motivated and more open, willing to share how he feels and willing to work with others.

"You're so cool, Jack." Akumu praised with a warm smile on his face. "Able to remain serious and caring at the same time! I guess you could say you're a _Jack _of all trades!"

…

…

…

"That was a terrible pun, but wait a sec...your family owns casinos, right?" I questioned.

Jack cleared his throat, still a bit stunned by that awful pun. "Um, yes, several actually. Spanning from Las Vegas to a couple of other major cities."

"So...did they name you Jack on purpose?" I asked, seriously interested. It can't be a coincidence, right?!

Jack frowned. "How should I know? They probably just liked the name…"

"No, I'm sure they named you Jack for a specific reason…" Akumu theorized, rubbing his chin in thought. "There's the Jack playing card, the popular American alcoholic beverage Jack Daniels, the phrase 'Jack of all trades', Black Jack, Slapjack…"

He rambled on for quite some time about the various phrases and things including Jack's name.

By the time he was done, Jack looked quite pale. "M-my parents didn't name me after alcohol! ...Right?"

Fortunately, a suddenly loud voice interrupted the awkward conversation.

_Unfortunately_, it was a voice belonging to someone who's most definitely about to start an even more awkward conversation.

"Howdy! Hi there! Heya! Wow, who knew there were so many ways to say hello?"

**Monokuma **appeared in the middle of the room, his 2'1" squishy body and high pitched voice managing to make all of us jump.

"Where the hell did you come from?!" Takahashi angrily yelled. "I was trying to take a nap when your shrill ass voice penetrated my ears!"

"Well speaking of penetration, my dear pilot, I have a great way to explain where I came from! When a mommy bear and a daddy bear love each other, they-" Clara quickly shut the bear up.

"Please stop talking." She sighed, shaking her head at Monokuma's antics.

"Hey!" Monokuma frowned. "I wouldn't have to explain to poor Mr. Takahashi here if the Japanese school system bothered to teach you all sex education!"

"That's a topic they cover in high school…" Isami said, writing in her note book as per usual. "Something we'd be in if you hadn't kidnapped us and taken us to space."

"Yeah, besides, not all of us from Japan." Fran brought up. "I've actually already learned all about it! You see, the best way to put it is-"

"Ew, gross, no one wants to hear that!" Monokuma whined, covering his ears with his paws.

Fran simply glared at him in response.

"Why are you here this time?" I asked. "Come to gloat?"

"Gloat?" Monokuma repeated, tilting his head. "I have nothing to gloat about!"

"Of course you do." Koko frowned. "There's two less of us here than there was yesterday. I'm sure you're thrilled about that…"

Monokuma cackled. "Upupupu! Well of course I am! It fills my tiny, tiny heart with oh so much joy! But I can't take the credit for Mr. Sayoama's kill! He was the one who slammed the baseball bat into poor Ms. Kiyomizu's fragile little skull! If anything, the one who deserves to gloat is the ever so manipulative Kuro! He orchestrated the entire crime, but Hiiro's the one gone! Upupupu, I'm sure you're glad, aren't ya pal?"

Shiro shrank down in his seat. "I-I'm Shiro, not Kuro...I had n-nothing to do with it!"

"Well, you kinda did." Takahashi admitted. "Maybe if you weren't such a spineless little shit, you could actually try to repress Kuro and gain total control over your own body."

"T-Takahashi, isn't that a little harsh?" Nadia quietly said, nervously looking at the Ultimate Pilot.

"It definitely was." Evelyn frowned. "You know how strong and crazy Kuro is, you can't fault him for not being able to repress him-"

"N-No…" Shiro interrupted Evelyn, much to her and everyone else's surprise. "M-Monokuma and Takahashi are right...I need to l-learn how to repress Kuro, o-otherwise he's going to keep misbehaving. He h-helps me out a lot in daily life, but in a p-place like this, he does more harm than good. I'll work on it, everyone, I p-promise! I won't l-let him do anything else to hurt you guys!"

I never thought we'd get to this point. Up until now, Shiro's never talked back to anyone, and has mostly preferred to just stay quiet rather than getting into confrontations. But now he's actually _agreeing _with Takahashi and promising to try and repress Kuro? It's a pretty big promise to keep, but I guess Shiro's willing to work hard to keep it.

"Hey, now's not the time for emotional revelations!" Monokuma whined, waving his arms at us. "I have important news!"

"Oh God." Norikazu rolled his eyes. "Any news of yours is always horrible."

"If it's something that requires physical activity, I'd rather not participate." Mari admitted, whipping her hair in Clara's face yet again (to which the dancer simply sighed in response) "I'm already in a bad mood over Mr. Jack Attack over here refusing to let me wear Satoko's totally adorable denim jacket, I don't need to be put in an even _worse _mood by walking more than three feet." She complained, motioning to her heels.

I raised a brow at that 'Jack Attack' comment. Akumu leaned in and whispered to me.

"You know how she wore Silver's jacket the day after the trial? She tried to do the same thing again but Jack had asked for all of Satoko's spare clothing beforehand so Mari couldn't get her hands on them."

"Someone like Mari doesn't deserve to wear something that Satoko wore." Jack mumbled, glaring at the runway model.

"Calm down everyone, it's not like I'm going to make you play another round of Traitor/Truce..." Monokuma said, sheepishly twiddling his fingers. "...Unless you guys want to?"

We all quickly yelled out a unanimous "no".

Monokuma frowned once again. "Fine then. You're all being so cold this morning, you probably don't even deserve it, but because I'm such a kind, forgiving soul, I'm going to give it to you anyway! Drumroll please!"

…

…

…

Silence.

Monokuma awkwardly cleared his throat. "Um, despite your rudeness, I am pleased to announce the grand opening of the **third floor**!"

...

…

…

Silence, once again.

This time however, it was out of confusion…

"Third floor?" Sonoda repeated. "I can't remember seeing any staircase leading to a third floor on the second floor…"

"Yeah, the only rooms there were the VR room, game room, gym, pool, infirmary, and the Heaven or Hell captive room." Clara recounted, nodding along with Sonoda.

"Ooo, is there _another _secret room we didn't discover, like the room with all the pool controls?" Takumi asked, raising a brow and smirking.

"Or is this supposed 'third floor' just a key word for something sinister?" Fran frowned.

Monokuma simply waved his paws in frustration at everyone's questions and comments. "No, no, no! You've got it all wrong! There wasn't any staircase, there's no secret room, and as much as I wish it was, the third floor is _just _a regular old floor! While you little bastards were off dreaming of boning your celebrity crushes, _I _was hard at work at renovating the Heaven or Hell room to make way for a staircase!" He revealed.

"You did all that in one night?" Norikazu asked, unconvinced.

"I don't think that's possible." Evelyn admitted. "It took a team of 4,000 people to build the Great Pyramid of Giza, but one animatronic bear managed to build a staircase in roughly 12 hours?"

"...A pyramid built in Ancient Egypt is one thing, a staircase is another…" Fran nervously laughed. "Eve, did you just tell us that analogy just so you could boast about your knowledge of the pyramids?"

"Maybe." Evelyn giggled.

"Grrr, if you all doubt me then you can go see for yourselves!" Monokuma angrily said. "Honestly, you kids are so ungrateful these days…"

And just as soon as he appeared, he disappeared into God knows where...Seriously, how the hell does he do that?!

"So, a new floor, huh?" Mari said aloud. "I _guess _I can muster up the energy to walk all the way up there…"

"It _sounds _exciting," Clara started. "But also a little frightening, as now there's more opportunities for people to come up with murder plots…"

"I'll never be able to look at the pool and the equipment room the same way ever again." Fran admitted, sadly glancing at Koko. "Hopefully this new floor will do us more good than bad."

"I-I hope we can do something f-fun, all together soon." Shiro blushed. "Maybe there'll b-be something new to do on the n-new floor?"

"The second floor was themed around recreational activities." Jack noted. "What will the third floor's theme be…?"

"I can't say I'm not a little excited at the prospect of this new floor…" Norikazu admitted. "For more potential canvases, of course." (Does this guy think about anything other than good canvases?)

"The VR room on the second floor is so cool," Nadia gushed. "I feel like anything on the third floor won't be able to top it…"

"And hey, this means we got some new potential escape routes!" Takumi beamed. "Time for the Ultimate Escapist to finally make a move!"

"Just how many floors does this spaceship have?" Leonia wondered. "Honestly, this seems less like a spaceship and more like some sort of building floating through space."

"New floor, new opportunities!" Evelyn remarked. "Though I can't help but wonder why Monokuma continues to reward us like this…"

"Judging by my notes…" Isami mumbled. "Whatever's on the third floor is most likely just to entertain and distract us, like the second floor did…"

"It'll be hard to get past what happened yesterday…" Koko admitted with a sad smile. "But exploring this new floor should help me out, right?"

"Alright, an entire new floor to explore." Akumu smiled. "I'm looking at this as a positive thing, and so should the rest of you."

"Ah, this is nice." Sonoda commented. "Something like this is the perfect start to the day, don't you think?"

One by one, everyone expressed their opinion of the new floor. Some were a little cautious and skeptical, but it seems the majority of us were excited.

I for one couldn't wait to find out what awaited us!

Without needing to say anything, everyone quickly cleaned up the mess they left behind eating breakfast and headed for the second floor. I was about to join Akumu and Jack in doing the same, but a certain dictator held me back from doing so…

"I have to talk to you." Takahashi said, his tone as harsh as ever.

Jack raised a brow. "Do you need us to wait up, Seizo?"

"Yeah, we can hold on if you still want to go look around together." Akumu nodded.

I looked from Akumu to Jack, and then to Taka, whose serious facial expression told me what he most likely wanted to talk about…

I sighed. "No, don't worry about it. Takahashi and I just had an idea for something, is all."

"If you say so." Jack nodded, walking towards the announcement room door.

"Don't keep us waiting too long!" Akumu joked, following after Jack.

Once everyone in the dining room was gone, Takahashi looked at me…

And slapped me upside the head.

"Ow!" I yelped, quickly backing away from him. "What the hell was that for, you douchebag?!"

"OOGA BOOGA, _Taka and I just had an idea for something_." Takahashi said in a high-pitched voice, presumably trying to mimic me. "Are you fucking braindead?! Why couldn't you have just told those losers to piss off?"

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes. "I just said we had an idea, not that we're planning on overthrowing Monokuma and escaping."

He slapped me upside the head again. "_You _shut up, don't talk about the plan in the middle of the dining room like a dumbass."

Though he's smart and a good leader, I forgot how much of an asshole Takahashi could be. He's definitely gotten better since the days of calling Clara a stripper and complaining about doing dishes, but he still has a long way to go to in terms of being a likable guy.

As much as I hate hot headed douchebags like him, I have to work with him if I really want a shot at getting out of here. For now, I'll just bite my tongue as long as possible…

"Fine, my bad." I sighed. "What did you want to talk about?"

Takahashi glared at me one last time, before shaking his head and giving me his usual neutral expression.

"We need to start finding more people to help out with this plan. A pilot and an actor don't bring much to the table by themselves." Taka explained.

"Well I mean, we're pretty smart by ourselves." I shrugged. "Why don't we start working on the foundations of the plan before we start dragging more people in?"

"The only one of us with any intelligence is me, D-Lister." Takahashi sneered. "All you celebrities are brain dead idiots who only care about themselves. I told you before, didn't I?"

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...

_Sunrise stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around to look at me. "You like planes? What's your favorite model?"_

_"...Um...First-class?" I answered._

_Sunrise sighed. "Yeah, figures. You're just a poser like the rest of them." He went back to grab planks._

_"What's that supposed to mean?" I frowned._

_"Tch, means you're just a fake ass celebrity he wants to act like he knows more than he does," Sunrise said. "You make fun of the rest of us simply because we're 'lower on the totem pole'."_

One of the several reasons Takahashi doesn't like me is because I'm a 'fake ass celebrity'. I tried to tell him he was wrong, but I guess his opinion still stands.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I frowned. "Ok, if you want to recruit people who can help us, then Takumi would be a good option. His talent would be very beneficial."

"Sure." Takahashi slowly nodded. "Just don't get his ADHD ass all excited, remind him to keep things on the down low. Who else?"

I thought about who else could be an asset to looking for an escape.

Takumi of course due to his being the Ultimate Escapist…

But who else?!

"It doesn't just have to be someone with a helpful talent, you know." Takahashi said. "We also need people who are generally smart."

Well in that case…

"Isami!" I suggested. "She's probably one of the smartest people here, despite the fact she isn't the most talkative. Plus her talent could also be an asset depending on how you look at it."

Takahashi frowned but ultimately nodded in agreement. "Ok. That's a good start. Tell Takumi and Isami to meet up with us in the pool room after we finish exploring the third floor."

"The pool room? Why there?" I shuddered just thinking about being in the same room where Satoko's corpse was found…

I know it was pretty hypocritical of me considering we go to the announcement room all the time, and Silver died there, but unlike the pool room we _have _to go to the announcement room. If I had a choice I'd avoid it at all costs...

"Because it makes you uncomfortable." Takahashi answered with a smirk. "It makes _everyone _uncomfortable. No one's going swimming anytime soon, so no one has any reason to go to the pool room. It's the perfect base of operations for that exact reason."

"Ok…" I sighed. "Sounds good."

I started walking away, figuring the conversation was over.

"Hey," Takahashi frowned. "Wipe that mopey look off your face. I told you before, we're not here to become friends, you know what the objective is."

I shook my head, turning around to face him. "Trust me, I know. It's just...couldn't you be just a little nicer? I know for a fact that you're not a bad guy, you're whole 'Ultimate fucking Pilot' thing is just an act. So why can't you just show everyone the real you instead of pushing them away?"

Takahashi narrowed his eyes, and for just a second I saw him caught off guard. But he quickly reverted back to his usual self.

"We're all strangers trapped on a spaceship forced to take part in a killing game." Takahashi answered, looking me in the eyes. His tone was serious and he wasn't just trying to sound intimidating; he meant everything he was saying. "Why would I ever want to let my guard around people who I have no clue what the fuck their intentions are? You think everything's all fine and great, and that we can all be friends? Then what about those of us who felt their life was more valuable than everyone else's, and murdered one of their so called 'friends'? You may think I'm being an insufferable asshole, and who knows, maybe I am. But I'm just here making the rational decisions that's going to get me out of here in one piece. And I know you're smart enough to realize that this whole escape plan won't come without some sacrifice, even if you won't admit it. You're either with me or against me, D-Lister. I don't want anyone to die but I also don't want anyone to hold me down. So, are you going to shut up and work with me or let your unwavering optimism and that hopeful attitude of yours stop you?"

I clenched my fists and closed my eyes.

Damn it…

As much as I disagree with his views, I can't help but know that there's a part of them that's true…

Of course people care more about themselves than the others here! I mean, you'd have to be a fool to think otherwise. Yes, there's people who are nice and caring, likable and friendly. But even the kindest of people could have sinister intentions.

Ritsu poisoned Silver without any concrete evidence that he was the mastermind.

Hiiro hit Satoko over the head without trying to find a way out of the situation he was in.

And Kuro manipulated an innocent, vulnerable person in order to keep himself safe.

You never know what snakes are lying behind angel faces…

But still. I can't completely agree with Takahashi. These people are my friends, even if they drive me a little insane or are pretentious pricks sometimes...I won't give up on them until they give me a reason to.

For now, I'll work with Takahashi. We'll try to figure a way out of here.

But in the future maybe things will be different and I can have more of a say than what I do now…

I nodded. "Yes, whatever you say...You're smarter than me so I trust you."

"Good." Takahashi responded. Most likely pleased with getting the last word, he headed into the announcement room.

I waited for a few seconds to put some distance between us and then made my way towards the third floor.

* * *

"Holy shit…"

I couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the staircase.

It was so strange...just yesterday, this was a room, but now it's as if it was never there.

Where Heaven or Hell used to be now stands a simple staircase, identical to all the other ones on the ship.

I spotted the vent that leads to the equipment room, still in tact (Monokuma can't change ventilation after all). However, the door leading to the pool operations room was gone.

Additionally, I no longer spotted the stake in the ground that my leg was chained to.

"Glad I don't have to see that again.." I muttered.

Well, enough admiring the staircase. Time to see what the third floor has to offer!

After climbing the stairs, I immediately gasped.

This whole entire floor is unlike anything on the ship!

The first floor theme is futuristic, with the white glossy flooring and walls.

The second floor's theme is urban, with the bricks and band posters lining the hallway.

And it seems this floor's theme is supposed to be **nature**.

The walls are white, with various vines and plants growing off of it. I can't tell if they're fake or not, but they definitely look real. The floor is a really nice pavement with little animal footprints drawn into it, like something you'd see in a garden or a zoo.

The lighting of the floor was a bright white, and actually gave off a little heat. Is Monokuma trying to replicate the sun or something?

Overall, I think this is definitely going to be one of the coolest floors. I wonder what the rooms are like…

I approached the first room, on my left. It's so big that there were no other rooms on this side of the hallway! What the hell could it be?

To find the answer to my question, I walked in.

* * *

I was immediately greeted with a bright light. I looked up, and noticed the ceiling of the room...didn't look like a ceiling at all.

Instead, it was like I was standing outside! The blue sky looked exactly like I remembered it, and the sun was partially hidden by a few cirrus clouds.

It was so amazing…

But it was obviously all fake. We're on a spaceship in space, after all.

I looked down to observe my surroundings. The room was made to look like a **park**, and the walls were tall iron wrought fences, I guess to keep the outside feeling of the room. I turned around and noticed the door looked like a gate.

As with any park, there were several things to do. A walking path to ride your bike, water fountains to stay hydrated, several benches to sit down and relax, a few grassy fields to play a game of kickball, and even a few trees to catch some shade.

The most interesting thing in the room was a **pond**. It was a decent size, and perfect for fishing if that was your thing.

"Hey, Seizo!"

Koko, Fran, and Nadia were investigating this room. Fran beckoned me over, so I made my way towards her.

"This room is crazy, huh?" She remarked, staring up at the sky. "I wonder how much it cost to build something like this!"

"W-Well, um, this room alone probably cost somewhere in the billions." Nadia theorized. "And then along with everything else on the ship…"

"The entirety of the HFH Enterprise probably cost trillions to make!" Koko gasped. "Oh wow, who even has that kind of money?!"

"No one, I don't think." I said. "Well, not one individual, I mean. There are plenty of companies that have a trillion dollar net worth, though. Plus, the government is always using their money for things they shouldn't…"

"Makes you wonder who managed to do all this." Fran frowned. "It's clearly a powerful group with a lot of money, but who? Some random company? Or maybe the government had something to do with this?"

"But why?" Nadia sadly frowned. "I still don't understand why we were k-kidnapped in the first place, and if the government had something to do with it, then that's even more scary…"

The government huh? It's definitely a possibility. They're always up to shady experiments and doing things they aren't supposed to.

But would trapping 20 students on a spaceship and sending them to space really be something that they're even capable of? It'd take so much time, money, and resources, surely it wouldn't be so easy…

Damn it! I wish I could remember something about my kidnapping, I'm sure it'd help me out…

"Well, if the government had something to do with it, then don't you guys think Hope's Peak would be involved too?" Koko gulped.

"Oh yeah, that's right." Fran nodded. "We're all Ultimate students, and were supposed to attend Hope's Peak as the next incoming class. That fact can't be ignored. Is it really just a coincidence or is there something sinister at play?"

Nadia started to shake slightly and her eyes started to water. "Oh, I want to go home so badly! I miss my family and friends, and being able to do my daredevil stunts. Why is t-this happening to us?"

"It'll be ok, Nadia." Koko sadly smiled, putting a hand on the black-haired girl's shoulder. "I know this is scary, but we'll get to the bottom of this."

"Yeah, there's nothing to be afraid of!" Fran beamed. "We've been gone for so long, I'm sure our family back home is close to finding out the truth of everything. They'll rescue us and everything will be ok!"

Nadia sniffed, wiping away her tears and nodding. "A-Alright...I will try to hope for the best. Everything will be ok…" She repeated.

I sighed, turning away from the trio. 'Everything will be ok…'

…

Is that really true?

I bid farewell to Fran, Nadia, and Koko, and made my way to the next room.

* * *

This one was on the opposite side of the hallway, on the right. It was near another room on the same hallway, so it wasn't as big as the park was.

I entered.

"This is all really confusing…"

This room couldn't have been more different from the park. For one, it was small, and then there was the fact that it was dark, with the only lights coming from this weird tower shaped thing in the middle. It had blinking lights, wires, and panels on it.

The only other thing in the room were several small towers, located on the opposite wall from where the door was.

Exploring this room was Clara and Akumu.

Clara was currently messing with some controls on the main tower while a confused Akumu watched her.

"Hey guys," I smiled, walking up to them. "What the hell is this room for?"

"My guess is it's some kind of server room." Akumu answered. "All these towers probably power everything that's in the other rooms."

"Oh, that makes sense." I nodded. "I mean the technology required for something like a fake sky and sun must be crazy."

"Definitely," Clara sighed. "I don't understand any of these controls or buttons, and I took AP Computer Science in middle school. Guess it didn't really help me out much, huh?"

I chuckled. "Well, it's probably for the best, anyway. It'd be pretty bad for us if we accidentally messed up something in here. Who knows, this could be the room that's responsible for us having oxygen to breathe!"

"Hm, I don't think so." Akumu said, looking around. "All these towers look fairly identical, so they probably all share the same general purpose."

"I haven't seen the rest of the rooms yet, but I'm guessing that all the other rooms have the same fake sky and sun like in the park?"

Clara nodded. "Yup, all but this room and the aquarium have the fake sky effect. Oh, and Monokuma stopped by the park when Akumu and I were investigating it. Apparently the weather will sometimes change depending on the time of day, so it could be nice and chilly in the mornings, but rainy and dreary during the evening."

"Which is something that requires even _more _complicated technology!" Akumu chuckled.

…

…

…

"My brain hurts." I whined. "How the hell did our kidnappers come up with all of this stuff?!"

"Well, they must be incredibly intelligent to build a spaceship in the first place." Clara theorized. "And then even _more _intelligent in order to be able to create all the crazy and unimaginable things that we've seen here so far. They must be on Mark Zuckerberg's IQ level or something"

"I took an IQ test once and I scored pretty high!" Akumu smiled. "Well, I'm guessing I did, at least. You had to pay for your results so I just googled most of the answers to see if I had them right…"

"I took one in junior high school and scored below a lot of my classmates…" I sighed. "It's ok though, my parents always reminded me I'll have my good looks and talent to make it in the real world!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Seizo…" Clara deadpanned.

I left Akumu and Clara behind in the server room after they gave me a lecture on self worth and broadening my horizons.

"Ok, let's see…" The only other room in this hallway is next to the server room. Let's find out what it is!

* * *

Ah, the aquarium.

Clara brought it up during our conversation, and she wasn't kidding when she called this room an aquarium!

It was fairly small and obviously not like the real thing, but it was still really cool. The wall on the left and on the opposite side of the door had those long fish tank things you see in aquariums on them, and there were actually real live fish living in them! Unlike real aquariums, however, there weren't any actual interesting animals worth seeing, like sharks and sea turtles.

On the right side of the room was a little counter with a cash register. Behind it was a shelf full of various sea animal plushies...

…

It makes me irrationally angry that they sell whale plushies when there's no whales on display in here…

Lastly, there was also a control panel next to the fish tanks.

"I wonder what this controls!"

Evelyn and Sonoda were the ones exploring this room. Evelyn was messing with the controls while Sonoda was admiring the merchandise.

I approached Evelyn first. "Hey, what's that do?"

"Hm, I _think _it controls the water temperature and...something else?" Evelyn nervously laughed.

I leaned over her shoulder and noticed two dials. One had numbers on it, signifying temperature, while the other one was blank.

"Hm…" I slowly turned one of the dials to the right. I observed the fish tank, and didn't see any immediate changes…

But after a while, I noticed the air pump located in the tanks started to make more bubbles!

"Look, Evelyn!" I pointed out. "There's more bubbles for the fishies." I smiled. Although they were nowhere near as cool as jellyfish and octopus, fish were still pretty cute. When I get home I think I'll buy one of those shiny ones, maybe two so they can have a fri-

"Seizo, no!" Evelyn quickly pushed me away and turned the dial back to the left.

"Hey!" I frowned. "You're taking away their bubbles!"

Evelyn sighed. "Seizo, those bubbles are actually oxygen. They are good for the fish...in the right amounts. Too much and they can develop certain diseases, such as lethal gas bubble disease. Plus, it makes the temperature in the water warmer which could possibly kill the fish."

…

…

…

"How the hell do you know that?!" I questioned. "You're just a translator but you seem to know a lot more than the fact that hola means hi in Spanish…"

Evelyn chuckled. "I told you before, didn't I? I learn a lot of weird facts through my study of language and culture. Some parts of India, for example, actually believe fish to be sacred. So they do their best to protect them and keep them safe."

"Which includes making sure their fish tanks are at optimal living conditions." I concluded. "Good to know. Well, hopefully no one adds too many bubbles or makes the fish tank too warm."

"These fish tanks usually have a safety mechanism." Evelyn revealed. "If the control panel senses the living conditions in it are harming the fish, it'll shut down the ability to control the temperature and air pump. My guess is that in an emergency, it'll also shut down the control panel completely, allowing the fish tank to safely regulate to whatever conditions are most optimal."

"Good to know…" I nodded. Geez, first Evelyn knows all about Senza Sangue, and now she knows how fish tanks in aquariums work? I'll have to keep my eye on her from now on…

I turned to see Sonoda messing with the merchandise. I could hear him muttering something from here.

"I better check that out." I chuckled. "Wouldn't want him to get in trouble for breaking something."

"_Adieu_." Evelyn smiled, going to one of the fish tanks to observe the fish.

"Sonoda, my man, what's going on?" I asked as I approached him.

Sonoda sighed. "I haven't found a single Monocoin in this room. I've been all over, searching every nook and cranny, but to no avail. I guess Monokuma forgot to put some in here?"

"Maybe." I shrugged. "This _is _a gift shop as well as an aquarium, so it kind of makes sense you wouldn't find any Monocoins."

"Ah, fair point." Sonoda smirked. I raised a brow as he approached the cash register…

And tried to force the drawer open.

"S-Sonoda, no!" I said, flustered. "You're going to get in trouble!"

Sonoda ignored me, continuing to pull on the drawer. "I don't see the problem! I'm just exploring the third floor as Monokuma directed! I'm not breaking any rules, am I?"

I thought about it, and I suppose Sonoda was right. Monokuma didn't mention anything about something like this, plus he's not showing up to stop Sonoda…

Still, I can't be a part of this crime.

I shook my head. "Good luck Sonoda, but I gotta go. There's no telling what'll happen if you get in trouble."

"Suit yourself, Seizo." Sonoda smirked, _still _trying to force it open. "I'll remember you when I'm filthy rich in Monocoins!"

"Don't you mean when the HFH Enterprise **official **bank is rich in Monocoins?" I deadpanned.

Sonoda nervously laughed. "Ah, yes. Yes, that is exactly what I meant."

I sighed, quickly getting out of there. Accessory to a robbery probably carries a pretty hefty sentence that I didn't want to find out about.

* * *

I walked to the end of the hallway, and found myself with two more hallways to explore. There was one on the right, as well as one on the left. The one on the right was shorter, with the door of the next room at the end of it, so I made my way there.

Immediately, I noticed writing on top of the door. It was in a cartoon-y font, and the letters were colored like animal furs, such as a giraffe and a zebra.

What the writing said amazed me the most:

**HFH ZOO**!

A zoo? In space? No way!

I quickly entered the room, expecting to come face to face with some of the animals I missed seeing back home on Earth…

* * *

And was met with a disappointing sight.

The zoo was HUGE, the biggest room on the ship by far. The hot 'sun' blazed down on me, and the skies were clear and blue.

In the middle of the whole zoo was a tower, displaying various posters of animals and other cute zoo stuff. Hanging off the tower was this weird chandelier lamp thing with animal detailing on it. It looked out of place and kind of cheap, but probably was responsible for lighting up the zoo at night.

There were four exhibits: Lions, penguins, monkeys, and giraffes.

Each exhibit had an attaching watering hole for the 'animals', a little photo booth spot, a fact sheet about the 'animals', and a device near each entrance that I couldn't make out.

It _looked _like a real zoo.

But it couldn't be farther from it.

The 'animals' were animals all right...**anima**tronics! Their steel frames moved staggeredly and did the same actions over and over again. Seriously, they don't even look real, what was Monokuma thinking?!

"This blows…" I frowned, walking past the lion, monkey, and giraffe exhibit. They were obviously robots, and moved exactly like they were too…

How disappointing.

The last exhibit, the penguins, was the only one in an enclosed room, so I had to go inside to see.

Once inside, I immediately shivered.

It's freezing in here!

The exhibit had fake glaciers, fake penguins, and a fake 'ocean', that was just a screen displayed on the wall.

Takahashi and Jack were the ones investigating this room, much to my surprise.

"Find anything interesting?" I asked the pair as I approached them.

Jack was currently knelt down messing with an animatronic penguin while Takahashi observed.

"A bunch of fake ass robots." Takahashi sneered. "How did the bear get his hands on real fish but he couldn't bother with getting real penguins?"

"Well penguins are significantly more costly than fish are." Jack said. "Plus a lot more work to take care of."

Takahashi simply rolled his eyes in response.

"I guess that makes sense." I sighed ."It's disappointing but true. It's still pretty cool though that the whole room is freezing cold. It really gives it that 'Antarctica vibe', you know?"

"There's a locked temperature control outside each exhibit." Jack revealed. "Monokuma came by to tell Takahashi the password in case he wanted to change the temperature in the future since he's the leader."

Takahashi shrugged. "It's not like I'm going to; these 'animals' aren't even real, the temperature is just for stupid ass 'aesthetic' purposes."

"Well, it's definitely doing the job." I shivered. "It's cold as hell…"

Jack chuckled. "You can't take it either? Mari felt the same way and had to leave."

"I don't blame her." I said. "I'm wearing a jacket and I still feel like I'm freezing!"

* * *

I couldn't take the cold anymore, so I quickly left the zoo. Ugh, even the name pisses me off! 'Zoo', my ass, it's just a robot exhibit…

One more room to go! I walked down to the last room on the floor. It was in a hallway by itself, so I assume it's pretty big.

* * *

It's pretty big.

This room looks like some sort of garden. There's various garden boxes full of different plants scattered all across the room, from sunflowers to sugar cane. All of the garden boxes are adorned with a label with facts about the plant.

There's also a second story with even more plants.

I walked around and found everyone's favorite trio Investigating the first story: Norikazu, Isami, and Shiro.

They were all leaning over a garden box full of strange purple flowers that I don't recognize…

"Pretty." I noted, walking to look with them.

"But deadly." Isami claimed. "Take a look at the label…"

"I-It's not for the faint of h-heart…" Shiro gulped, looking a little pale as he continued watching the flowers.

I raised a brow. If it's so scary then why are they still looking at it? I knelt down and read the label.

_Kumamono Flowdeath_

_Monokuam's Death Flower_

_This gorgeous flower lures prey in due to its vibrant purple color and heart shaped petals. However, if an organism, touches its pollen their hands will become sticky with the substance and they'll start to feel itchy all over. If they can't resist the urge to itch, the pollen will spread across their skin and seep into their body, making them feel sick…_

_What type of sickness you ask? Why don't you find out? Upupupupu…_

I shook my head. "Just another scare tactic from Monokuma. We just don't touch the pollen and we'll be fine!"

"Yes, but what if someone _intentionally _touches it?" Norikazu asked, turning to look at me with a serious expression.

Oh…

Oh!

"I see what you mean." I sighed. "Someone could intentionally put the pollen on somebody in order for them to feel its effects."

"And judging by the name of the flower, the effects can't be good." Isami frowned. "I'm not sure about 'deadly' but it could very well be paralyzing or flesh eating."

"F-flesh eating?!" Shiro repeated, stepping away from the garden box. "We need to s-stay away from it!"

"It's alright, Shiro." I chuckled, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It only affects you if you touch the pollen."

"I d-don't want to risk it." Shiro sighed, sadly frowning. "I want us all to stay safe…"

Norikazu and Isami both looked at each other and nodded. They backed away from the plant.

"Of course, we'll be fine. We won't go near it." Norikazu reassured.

"Don't worry about us, Shiro…" Isami said, taking Shiro's hand.

I looked at the sight with a slight smile. Norikazu and Isami have really done a great job taking care of Shiro. In doing so, they've also forced themselves out of their shells, and have become a lot more talkative.

Shiro blushed. "T-thank you guys...I know Kuro already w-worries you and tries to h-hurt you, so I just want to m-make sure nothing bad happens to you."

"Isami and I are two of the most careful people here." Norikazu claimed. "The only bad thing that could happen to us would be murder, since anyone could die at any time."

"Norikazu…" Isami frowned. "Really?"

"I'm just stating the truth." Norikazu argued. "We can't shelter him."

"G-Guys…" Shiro meekly said, still holding Isami's hand.

Isami shook her head. "It's not sheltering, it's just not stating the obvious for no reason."

"It's to prepare him for the worst possible scenario." Norikazu fired back.

"There's no rational reason to prepare for the worst possible scenario at this point in time." Isami said, a little bit of an angry glint in her eye that I've never seen before.

"_G-Guys_…." Shiro said a little louder.

"Yes there is." Norikazu argued.

"_No_ there isn't." Isami argued back.

Once again, this seems like something I'm not needed for, so I _slowly _backed away, leaving Shiro to helplessly stand there holding Isami's hand as Isami and Norikazu argued over Shiro yet again.

Alright, just one more place on this ship left unexplored.

I went over to the stairs and made my way onto the second floor of the garden.

The second floor was basically just a little balcony with a seating area and a huge basket of fruit. The railing overlooks the entire garden, and because it's fairly high up, I noticed that all of the plants were in groups. There were fruits, vegetables, flowers, mushrooms, and then a variety of other assorted plants that didn't fit into any specific category.

Two lovely ladies, Leonia and Mari, were relaxing on the seats. Mari was eating a bowl of grapes while Leonia was dining on strawberries.

That's weird, I also expected to find **him **here...Where could he be?

"Hey guys." I waved, taking a seat with them. "How's the fruit here?"

"It's pretty adequate, I guess." Mari shrugged. "I've tasted better at red carpet premieres, though."

"I think they're delicious." Leonia nodded. "Monokuma stopped by earlier. Apparently all the plants are watered with a special fertilizer on a routine basis, making them taste 'even better than fruit bought at your local grocery stores'."

Jesus, did everyone talk to Monokuma today except me?!

"This is pretty high up." I gulped, looking at the railing. "Kinda makes me nervous."

"Scared of heights, Seizo?" Mari smirked. "Don't worry, you won't fall off unless somebody intentionally pushes you."

"That's somehow even scarier…" I sighed.

"Ah, let's not think that way." Leonia advised. "This garden is my favorite room on this ship so far. It's so tranquil and quiet, I'm hoping it'll stay that way."

"As long as the cretins stay away, I'm sure we'll be fine." Mari said.

"Cretins?" I frowned. "Like who?"

"Well you know, the non-celebs of the ship." Mari said. "Us three know how to hold ourselves to a higher standard than most due to us being celebrities. But the others, people like Clara, Takumi, and Akumu, are _so _undignified."

Leonia sighed. "That's not a very nice way to think, Mari. They may not be as rich and famous as us, but that doesn't mean they're undignified."

Mari laughed. "It _so _does. I mean I asked Takahashi the other day if he knew who Junko Enoshima was and he looked at me and laughed."

...Junko Enoshima...

"Even Takahashi isn't exempt from your scrutiny?" Leonia questioned.

That sounds…

"Well he's hot and all but he's also just some pilot." Mari shrugged. "When we get out of here I'll marry him and he can fly me around wherever I want!"

Familiar.

"That's a very...unique way of looking at marriage." Leonia deadpanned, looking at her engagement ring.

But why?

Uh…

I don't feel so great.

"Ha, aren't we all in it for the selfishness at the end of the day?" Mari questioned. "Sure, love and everything is a bonus but I want a guy who does whatever I please. Taka is a bit...stubborn for now, but I'm sure he'll come around."

I quickly stood up. "Uh, sorry guys, but I've gotta go. I'm feeling a little hungry, so I think I'll go to the dining room."

"Oh, don't be silly, just have some fruit." Mari advised, pushing the bowl towards me.

"It really is quite delicious." Leonia nodded.

"No, no, I'll look for something else." I shook my head, quickly walking for the stairs after waving good bye.

I left The Wallflower trio behind to argue and made my exit.

* * *

Once alone in the hallway, I collapsed to the floor, holding my head in pain.

Damn it! What the hell?

Is this some sudden migraine or something?

What was going on when I got it?

Oh…

Right…

Mari said something about Junko Enoshima…

But why does that name affect me like this? I feel like she's mentioned them before and I was fine…

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get rid of the pain.

It hurts so bad…

Almost like…

When I first woke up in here!

_Almost immediately as my eyes fluttered open, I felt like closing them again. There was a pounding in my head and ears, almost like when you swim up too fast in the ocean or you're on an airplane that just took off. In short, it hurt like a bitch._

_On top of the physical pain, there was also the mental. Where the hell am I? When am I?_

Why? Why now? What's happening to m-

"What the hell's wrong with you?"

I slowly lifted my head up and opened my eyes.

Takahashi was looking at me, with a very confused and judgemental expression.

What the hell's wrong with me?

I wish I knew...

* * *

_A/N_: **Thanks everyone for tuning into Chapter 3. Thoughts on the title and what's happening in the chapter? See you in the next one. **


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